Archive for January, 2009
The statement is the full text of Marcos’ speech on Gaza, given at the World Festival of Dignified Rage on January 4th. As Jen wrote Monday, the EZLN is celebrating their 15th anniversary through the Festival of Dignified Rage. In his statement, Marcos specifically addresses how the war crimes of Israel will create a new generation of dignified rage in Palestine.
Read the entire statement after the jump.
In December, I wrote about Colombian president Alvaro Uribe clearly rejecting any outside intervention in the latest offered release of FARC hostages. The problem is that FARC won’t release any hostages unless there are outside witnesses involved.
The Colombian leftist rebel group, FARC, said it is willing to hand over six hostages but it will only do so in the presence of an international representative.
In a statement made public Wednesday, the FARC said it wants someone from either a “brother country” or the international community to be present when it frees the hostages.
Both the FARC and the Colombian government say they will let someone from the International Committee of the Red Cross be on hand for the hostage release. But Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has said he does not want any other international participation
Colombian Solidarity Demonstrations for Gaza Make the Colonialism Connection
8:00 am By Maegan La Mala · Activism|Colombia|Gaza|Palestine · Comments Off
8 Jan 2009While I know some readers don’t appreciate the connection I made between U.S. colonialism in Latin America and what is happening in Gaza, in Latin American protests against the continuing massacre of people in Gaza, the connections are being made.
The Colombian blog Equinoxio has some images and audio from a march on Tuesday in the capital city of Bogotá.
Protests for Oscar Grant
3:09 pm By la Macha · Justice · 5 Comments
7 Jan 2009Jennifer reported earlier about the case of Oscar Grant–a man who was shot in the back by police out in Oakland, California. The incident was caught on video by quite a few citizen journalists, however, it seems all of those people except two had their phones/cameras confiscated by the police. The following video shows some of that video and is very disturbing:
Below the cut is further information on the case as well as protest times. Please circulate widely, especially to the people you know out in the Oakland area.
Jon Stewart on Gaza
12:47 pm By la Macha · Gaza · 5 Comments
7 Jan 2009What do you think?
Supporting the DREAM Act
12:29 pm By Maegan La Mala · Activism|Education|Immigration · 3 Comments
7 Jan 2009
I have friends who are finishing their college education pero can’t find jobs because they don’t have papers. I know students who are graduating high school but worry about college as an option because they don’t have papers. While generally I am wary of promoting that a certain class of immigrant should be “legalized” over another, because I feel it promotes the classist ideal that only “educated” immigrants should have access to a status out of the shadows, the DREAM Act is worthwhile because it is a step in helping a younger generation of immigrants move forward and don’t we all deserve the access to make ourselves better? Isn’t that what that whole “American Dream” talk is about.
Pass the DREAM Act – Support Higher Education for All Students
The problem: Many American students graduate from college and high school each year, and face a roadblock to their dreams: they can’t drive, can’t work legally, can’t further their education, and can’t pay taxes to contribute to the economy just because they were brought to this country illegally by their parents or lost legal status along the way. It is a classic case of lost potential and broken dreams, and the permanent underclass of youth it creates is detrimental to our economy. Former Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch has said: “In short, although these children have built their lives here, they have no possibility of achieving and living the American dream. What a tremendous loss for them, and what a tremendous loss to our society.”
The solution: The federal DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), is a bipartisan legislation that would permit these students conditional legal status and eventual citizenship granted that they meet ALL the following requirements:
* if they were brought to the United States before they turned 16, are below the age of 30,
* have lived here continuously for five years,
* graduated from a U.S. high school or obtained a GED
* have good moral character with no criminal record and
* attend college or enlist in the military.
Justify This : Israel bombs UN School
10:29 am By Maegan La Mala · Gaza|israel|Palestine · 8 Comments
7 Jan 2009
While the message that many are parroting, even in comments here and everywhere in the mainstream media, is that the Israeli assault on the people of Gaza is an act of self-defense. As if a nation who is propped up gracias to the patronage of the United States needs that much defense against hand made rockets from people who right now are burying their children. Explain to me how bombing a United Nation school full of refugee children is an act of self defense and not an act of showing extreme power, of sending the message to the people of Gaza that “We will kill your children”.
Hugo Chavez Kicks Out Israeli Ambassador to Venezuela
8:19 am By Maegan La Mala · Gaza|israel|Venezuela · 13 Comments
7 Jan 2009
So much for the restraint Jen yesterday wrote about Hugo Chavez showing. Venezuela yesterday expelled the Israeli Ambassador, saying it was an act of solidarity with the people of Gaza.
From an official statement:
The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela expresses, yet again, together with people across the world, horror at the death of innocent women and children—a product of the Gaza Strip’s invasion by Israeli troops and the continual aereal and ground bombardment systematically unloaded by the State of Israel on the Palestinian Territory.At this tragic and indignant hour, the People of Venezuela manifests its unrestricted solidarity with the heroic Palestinian people; share the pain that has overcome the thousands of families for the loss of their loved ones; and standing with them, the Venezuelan government affirms that it will not rest until those responsible for these criminal atrocities are severely punished.
The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela sharply condemns the flagrant violations of the international law which the State of Israel has incurred, and denounces its planned use of State terrorism, with which this State has positioned itself at the margins of National order.
For the reasons outlined above, the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has decided to expel the Israeli Ambassador and part of its personnel at the Israeli Embassy in Venezuela, reaffirming its vocation of peace and its existence that international law be respected.
The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has prepared its mission in accordance to the UN so that, together with the majority of governments who require it, pressure is put on the Security Council to apply urgent and necessary measures to stop the current invasion of the State of Israel against the Palestinian Territory.
President Hugo Chávez, who has supported encounters with high representatives from the World Jewish Congress and has always opposed all anti-Semitism as he has all types of discrimination and racism, makes a brotherly plea to the Jewish community throughout the world to oppose the State of Israel’s criminal policies that serve as a reminder of the worst pages in the history of the twentieth century. With the genocide of the Palestinian people, the State of Israel will never be able to offer its own people a prospect toward a necessary and long lasting peace.
Via / Kabobfest
Image Via / Inca Kola
Hugo Chavez Tells Venezuelan Jews to Denounce Gaza Attacks
2:20 pm By Maegan La Mala · Gaza|Religion|Venezuela · 1 Comment
6 Jan 2009
More verbal than Barack Obama and forever willing to comment on anything that’s going on in the world, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has put a call out to Jews in his country: denounce the Israeli military actions in Gaza. Rather surprisingly, he did so with good taste and decorum
“A Palestinian community lives here with us which we adore and love and there are also Jews that live here who we love as well, but I wish the Jewish community would declare themselves against this barbarism. Do it. Don’t you strongly denounce any act of persecution and the Holocaust? What do you think we are looking at [in Gaza]? Put your hand on your heart and be fair.”
Of course, he had other things to say, which fit well into his typical spiel, like how Fidel is called a tyrant but he has never invaded a country like Israel is doing now. And how Irani president Ahmadineyad is equally vilified, yet he has never taken action against any country.
What do you think? Are the comparisons fair?
Via / El Universal (Venezuela)
Reuters is reporting on the deadly consequences of landslides in Guatemala occurring off season. Landslides in Guatemala are common, but they usually occur between June and November.
The victims were laborers returning home from coffee farms in a nearby department. They had apparently ignored warnings not to use the road, which was closed in December after a smaller rockfall killed two people.
“I was watching when it started. I thought it was an earthquake but the rocks just fell and fell and fell,” said laborer Leandro Salam, 26, who was working in a nearby cornfield at the time and ran over to help dig out bodies.
The mayor of San Cristobal Verapaz, Leopoldo Ical, told Reuters around 80 farmworkers had been traveling in two trucks when they reached the closed road near the hamlet of Los Chorros and continued on foot.
“The trucks stopped and the workers got out and continued on foot. They are the dead and disappeared,” Ical said.
I live in a region where tornadoes are common, but usually in early spring. There was a horrible wind storm the other night that woke the whole family up and left me terrified that we were in the middle of a tornado. I think we need to ask ourselves why all these normal weather events keep happening off season. Is there really nothing called Global Warming?
May the workers rest in peace.
Hola!
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