(I originally blogged this very important International incident on “Pippi’s Clipboard: News Lit Up” section, but it deserves an entire blog of its own so I can trace its huge mark on history with updates.)
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Updates:
07/20/09: It’s about time the U.S. challenged Israel publicly, if only obliquely in this news piece.
07/15/09: They Made It To Gaza! These pictures of We The People Of the World say it far better and more eloquently than any government head could ever do to regain Trust that Americans DO CARE!
Last Video footage onboard Spirit of Humanity during Israeli threat
07/13/09: Venezuela’s Chavez in Gaza Soon: “(MP George Galloway) explained that he would continue to organize solidarity convoys, calling for lifting the siege imposed on Gaza. He revealed that Israeli lobbyists had sent three requests to US Attorney General Eric Holder trying to stop the vessel, which were all rejected.” [The Israeli lobbyists' requests were actually rejected. Wow, that's news in inself! 
]
07/12/09: Egypt stops Gaza-bound aid convoy “…Egyptian border officials are not allowing the medical convoy to pass and have even threatened them with arrest, saying they have not received a list of the names of the members of the convoy.
“We are determined to cross onto Gaza, and no matter what happens next, out of this first small confrontation, we’ve achieved a success for the movement in support of the Palestinian people. The convoy is going to move on, and we ain’t gonna let nobody turn us around,” (NY Councilman Charles) Barron said.
Update 7/12/09: “The official reason given at the checkpoint for refusing to allow them to cross is that the officials there did not have a list of the names of the members of the convoy. Such a list was, however, at the request of the Egyptian authorities before any of the convoy members set foot in Egypt sent to the Egyptian ambassadors to Washington, D.C., and London.”
“The US Embassy in Cairo has now stepped in to forward a newly provided list of those convoy members aboard the buses at the bridge to the Egyptian foreign ministry to clear the way for the convoy’s passage.”
Round 3: From Sacramento, CA “….to send off Sacramentans that are joining” Viva Palestina, leaving the U.S. on July 4th headed by British MP George Galloway and Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic and including hundreds of people from the United States.”
[Bio: Ron Kovic] [Respect MP George Galloway]
Will it take a flotilla of 1000 boats to help a desperate people?….or maybe a….CONVOY?
07/07/09: Cynthia McKinney’s arrival should be broadcast atWBAIX at about 12 noon today.
07/06/09: McKinney released, returning to United States “Leola McKinney said the trip would have received no ‘publicity if they had been allowed to deliver supplies to Gaza. They [Israel] made an issue out of it by taking the boat and escorting them into Israel.’”
[Ms. McKinney's release from Ramle prison, Israel does not and should notend this story. Several remain illegally at Ramle. This latest insult worsens an already gaping, ugly wound on America that We The People must help heal by demanding that our U.S. Government stop fawning over Israel and severely and publically condemn Israel for its International War Crimes; by their silence on Israel's illegal terror and occupation, the White House implies its support of it, and this has to end!]
Day 6: WHERE IS THE WHITE HOUSE OUTRAGE! The silence from the White House on this issue is deafening. Until a fervent condemnation of Israel’s illegal seizure and imprisonment of Cynthia McKinney is issued, we can only assume that America, too, is an occupied nation answering to a different drummer.
“The very least that President Obama should do under the circumstances is to issue a public statement condemning Israel for its capture of these brave souls and demanding their unconditional release.” Future News Today
07/05/09: [I'm trying to follow up on this for independent confirmation but this is according to WBAIX Ticker]. “BREAKING NEWS: The Israelis have denied Noble [sic] Peace Prize Laureate Mairead Maguire her medication, which is necessary for her daily survival. The captive women have no luggage and no change of clothing.”
07/05/09 Follow Up: Al Jazeera: “The Israeli prison guards are denying the right for Mairead to access her medicine. Continue to email and call Mark Regev and Shlomo Dror and express your outrage over the treatment of the FreeGaza21 while they are imprisoned. The women have no access to their luggage or their clothing.”
07/05/09:Letters from Ramle prison “Fathi Jaouadi has been actively involved in Palestinian rights since he was 15 years old. Now in Ramle prison, he has already managed to organize a meeting with a UN representative and to raise the issue of the other inmates with him. He said that the UN official has agreed to follow up on some of the cases; Fathi has also been in contact with local NGO’s to raise the issue of many of the inmate’s situations. He told me he wants to focus on the fact that none of the inmates have any access to legal advice or help, most of the inmates have not been able to contact family to let them know of their situation and none of the inmates have committed anything that warrants them to be held indefinitely inside Ramle prison.”
[This article mentions that Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire's medication includes a thyroid preparation. Speaking as a medical transcriber for three endocrinologists, it is critical that she have that medication on a consistent basis; consequences could include thyroid storm, agranulocytosis if she is ill, and tremulousness (if hyperthyoid] or severe fatigue, weakness, lowered immune system, even coma (if hypothyroid). She MUST have that medication! ]
07/04/09: Citizens for Legitimate Government: “Can you imagine what would happen if Iran or Venezuela intercepted a vessel and/or incarcerated a former congressperson and Nobel Prize winner? Instead of covering Neverland 24/7, Faux would be covering the US shock & awe bombardment of the offending nation.”
07/04/09: Manchester, England hostage interviewed from Israeli Jail: “It’s bad, but the conditions are ok for me, I’ve not been beaten up, they’re a bit nasty sometimes and when they boarded the boat we had our faces slammed against the floor. It was bad for the older women like Mairead.”
07/04/09: Al Jazeera English: “…Maguire told Al Jazeera that some of the activists were considering applying to extend their detention in order to mount a legal challenge against the actions of the Israeli authorities.”
” ‘We refuse to be criminalised (sic) because we wanted to go to the aid of the people of Gaza.’ “
07/02/09: Ireland Calls For Release of Irish Nationals In Israel: “The minister called the current Israeli blockade of Gaza ‘completely unacceptable’ and called for all border crossings into the coastal salient to be opened to humanitarian and commercial traffic.”
[Where is the Obama administration outrage and condemnation!?! WAKE UP!]
07/02/09 Gaza: UN Expert denounces seizure of aid boat by Israeli forces: ” ‘Such a pattern of continuing blockade under these conditions amounts to such a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions as to constitute a continuing crime against humanity’, added the independent human rights expert.“
07/02/09: Pursuing Justice Blog by Attorney Shamai Leibowitz: ”While you celebrate the ideals of freedom and democracy on this Fourth of July weekend, think of Congresswoman McKinney and the other Americans aboard the ship who will be spending their holiday in Israeli captivity. Their crime? They dared to stand up to forces of tyranny and bring medical supplies and reconstruction aid to millions of human beings trapped in a siege…”
07/01/09: U.S. Military Veterans Condemn Israeli Seizure of Aid Boat in International Waters Off Gaza: “We urge our 8,000 members in 120 chapters across the country to call and fax the Israeli government officials listed below and demand the release of the 21 crew, passengers and journalists and the safe delivery of their aid supplies.”
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The story
06/30/09 Israeli Navy takes control of activist ship to Gaza “Today Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman and presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney. The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.”
” ‘President Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that’s exactly what we tried to do. We’re asking the international community to demand our release so we can resume our journey.’ —Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. Congresswoman.”
Mairead Maguire was also detained by U.S. Homeland Security earlier this month.
PressTV: ” ‘There is a patrol boat around us and we were told that if we did not turn back they would open fire,’ “Reuters quoted Irish activist Derek Graham as saying.
Democracy Now! “Israeli spokesperson Mark Regev dismissed the boats humanitarian mission. Mark Regev: Israel every day is allowing humanitarian support to reach the people of Gaza—food stuffs, medicines, energy and so forth [yada, yada, yada].This boat was not about that. This boat was about political activists who have been apologists for the Hamas regime, who have nothing whatsoever to say about Hamas’ brutal treatment of the people of Gaza.”
[What?!?!?] It’s okay for Israel to have mercilessly attacked Gaza for three weeks, indiscriminately killing innocent men, women, and children with state-of-the-art killing machines, and they have the AUDACITY to bemoan “Hamas’ brutal treatment of the people of Gaza”?
Will President Obama Walk the Talk? (06/27/09) “A broad international coalition urged Israel yesterday to freeze all settlement activity in the West Bank and lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip, backing President Obama’s Mideast policy.“
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Related stories:
07/04/09: Egyptian authorities punish two activists for Palestinian solidarity work “A young man who couldn’t speak and who was in a wheelchair, at one point of desperation, hit himself on the chest constantly as he attempted to express himself as they pushed him and the wheel chair aggressively. When an elderly man fell unconscious on the floor, Natalie approached to assist him and the mukhabarat officer who was dealing with their case told her, ‘I will make sure YOU will never leave Gaza.’ ‘How did you get into Gaza,’ asked another officer who saw them sitting on the floor with their luggage. ‘We came on the Free Gaza Movement boats.’ He smiled and said, ‘So, you don’t need us to answer. You already know why you’re not being allowed out.’ ”
“You can always hear the people who are willing to sacrifice somebody else’s life. They’re plenty loud and they talk all the time. You can find them in churches and schools and newspapers and legislatures and congresses. That’s their business. They sound wonderful. Death before dishonor. This ground sanctified by blood. These men who died so gloriously. They shall not have died in vain. These noble men. ….but, what do the dead say?”
From: Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumble, 1939 (1994 printing Carol Publishing Group.)
CLICK HERE to view remaining two segments of this documentary
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My soapbox
From my perspective, Israel/NWO are so frantic that our brave international activists might actually SEE and record what’s now going on in Gaza and/or are scared silly that a new 911 investigation will succeed, and/or that HR1207 to audit the Fed Res will pass, they are willing to go to the point of breaking all the rules of International Law, and the MSM is trying to distract from the source of the disease by focusing on symptoms such as Korea, Iran, and Lebanon. They are quickly alienating the entire world community—who are the terrorists here, really? Many who were still sleeping before are COMPLETELY AWAKE NOW! In a prior blog, I said the following:
“You know, when you corner a rabid dog it is bound to pounce fiercely with madness on you. We The People would be wise, from my perspective, to realize that there is a covert collective ‘rabid dog’ loose, and we are collectively cornering it by forcing Truth. We will need the weapons of Unity, Courage, Light, and Higher Awareness to put it to sleep and out of its misery quickly and, hopefully, painlessly.”
We are forcing Truth about 911, Truth about the Federal Reserve, Truth about the NeoCon Agenda, and many other truths. Zionist and Imperial gatekeepers are foaming at the mouth. Once they are brought down, Palestine will be just the first of all oppressed countries in this world who will finally see the Light of self-determination.
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Related Blogs on this Site:
Palestinian Occupation: As Arrogant As Mormon Occupation of NY
Zionists Accelerating Terror to Bring Forth Their “Second Coming”?
Jan 2009 Protests Around The World Regarding Gaza
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…..and…. When they came for me, there was no one left to stand up with me.
