|
Comment on this article |
View comments |
Email this Feature
|
|
News :: Protest Activity |
|
CU stand against terror Saturday |
Current rating: 0 |
by Ricky Baldwin
Email: baldwinricky (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified!)
Phone: 328-3037 |
03 Aug 2006
|
|
This Saturday August 5 members of the local community will stand against US-backed state terror ongoing in Lebanon and elsewhere from 2-4 pm at Main and Neil in Champaign. All are welcome. |
Just as Lebanon was beginning to recover from years of war that made it an icon for destruction (and the butt of years of gallows humor, punchline: "Beirut"), the Israeli military attacked, bombing civilian targets, targetting infrastructure and now invading the South for a full-scale “sweep” a la Gaza.
Among the targets: a well-established UN outpost and a pair of Red Cross ambulances.
The tenderbox
The justification for such gross violations of international law and human morality? The foreign-backed militia group Hezbollah's capture - or "kidnapping", depending on who you listen to and exactly where they were taken - of a couple of Israeli soldiers involved in operations along the Lebanese border.
The Israeli government claims the soldiers were inside Israel when they were taken, but several accounts suggest Hezbollah may have caught them red-handed inside Southern Lebanon.
Israel only pulled its occupation forces out of Southern Lebanon a few years ago.
At any rate tens of thousands of civilians now lie dead, hundreds of thousands homeless, and a country has been plunged back into ruin, ostensibly in response for something the Israeli army does all the time in Palestinian territories.
In fact, it was US and Israeli sabre-rattling in the wake of unfavorable Palestinian elections (that is, the US and Israel didn't like the results) that produced the tenderbox we now see fully alight.
Israel began bullying the Palestinians anew as soon as they elected leaders Israel didn't like. The spark came when Hezbollah bit back. Now it's the civilians - in Lebanon and to some degree in Israel - who are paying the price for the actions of others.
Meanwhile, who benefits? Hezbollah and its leaders (increasingly popular in the Islamic world), the Israeli Right (enjoying the same in Israel) and of course the US elites, whose strategic interests in the region are served.
Off the leash
Our government’s response has not been subtle. In UN talks, the US and Britain alone have acted to block an immediate cease fire, and the US has accelerated arms shipments to Israel. What clearer signal could there be?
Our government, after all, sees Israel as its pitbull in the region. Its job is to maintain US strategic interests in the region, i.e. control of the world's oil supply. (We don't much need their oil, but much of the world does. Control of this oil is about all we have left to hold over some heads, e.g. Europe, China...) Israel, no doubt, sees itself somewhat differently but is aware of its role as an American instrument.
Bush could stop this madness with one phone call, but our government is using Israel to do “our” dirty work. In other words, these crimes are being committed indirectly in our name.
What do YOU think about that?
PROTEST!
Saturday
August 5
2-4pm
One Main (corner of Neil)
Champaign
Sponsored by the Anti-War Anti-Racism Effort (AWARE).
Come and bring your own sign or borrow one of ours.
www.anti-war.net |
See also:
http://www.anti-war.net
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org
|
This work is in the public domain. |
|
Re: CU stand against terror Saturday |
by Ricky Baldwin
baldwinricky (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
07 Aug 2006
|
|
By the way, this event turned out very well. About 30-40 people showed up, including some new folks we haven't seen before and some relatively new folks who have been to an AWARE event maybe once before. We got lots of honks and waves of support. Several passers by told us things like, "You're right, you're damn right. This is crazy!" and "Keep up the good work! Thank you for your work!" It was very gratifying. Thanks to everyone who supported us, either by helping or just by expressing support! |
|
Re: CU stand against terror Saturday |
by Letter in the N-G
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
07 Aug 2006
|
Where are photos of Lebanese suffering?
Monday August 7, 2006
It's well-known that most Americans have become "visual learners" and the commercial media, including The News-Gazette, are cognizant and respectful of this tendency. Nowhere is this as apparent as in the coverage of the Middle East crisis.
We don't see any pictures of the horrific death and destruction that the Israeli military has been inflicting on Lebanon. We see big pictures of paragliders and Ferris wheels on the front page of The News-Gazette, next to the reports on the conflict in Lebanon, which are enhanced by smaller pictures of Israeli soldiers traumatized by the effects of their own artillery fire and of a Navy medic carrying an American child to be evacuated from Lebanon.
No photos of dead bodies or of blown-up children lying on the streets of Beirut and villages in southern Lebanon – these would be just too much and might prompt Americans to demand the Bush administration and Congress stop their unconditional support of the "right" of Israel to defend itself, with no regard for Lebanese life and the infrastructure that was being rebuilt after two decades of war.
We need to put pressure on our government to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Lebanon. We are ultimately responsible for Israel's continued disregard for international law by allowing our government to use our tax money to sustain the Israeli military machine.
Our responsibility also extends to insisting that our government stop using U.S. veto power to prevent the U.N. Security Council from demanding Israel end its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, which has been the primary catalyst for the conflict in the region.
NILOOFAR SHAMBAYATI
Champaign
Find this article at:
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/opinions/letters/2006/08/07/where_are_photos_of_lebanese_suffering
Comments |
|
Re: CU stand against terror Saturday |
by BD
BD (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
07 Aug 2006
|
I notice the same thing.
In Sunday's NG, images of Muslims burning flags and Bush efifgies are next to images of grieving Israelis.
This is the kind of crude propaganda typical of the NG.
We at the Public i extend an open invitation to anyone who would like to present the other side.
Salaam. BD |
|
Re: CU stand against terror Saturday |
by BD
BD (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
07 Aug 2006
|
From Democracy Now:
Reuters Suspends Photographer For Doctoring Photo
The Reuters news agency has suspended a photographer for manipulating a photo of the bombing of Beirut. The photo was doctored to make the smoke look darker and thicker. |
