US Middle-East Policy | themcglynn.com/theliberal.net

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"If you assume that every child is sensitive, vulnerable, readily injured, and easily broken, then you will never be far from the truth. If you assume that all children are motivated by pride and justice, you will be able to communicate with them. If you assume that all children should be treated as sacred trusts who deserve your full measure of devotion, you will be on the right path. If you seek to find the vulnerable, precious child in yourself and in all other adults at all times in your dealings with yourself and others, you will have achieved enlightenment. You will become a gift to the children in your life to whatever degree that you remain enlightened in your dealings with them." Peter R. Breggin, M.D., Reclaiming Our Children: A Healing Plan for a Nation in Crisis ******************** Submitted by Maureen

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“Any life lost in war is the life of a human being, irrespective of whether it is an Arab or an Israeli...........................................

The wife who becomes widowed is a human being, entitled to live in a happy family, Arab or Israeli..............................................

Innocent children, deprived of paternal care and sympathy, are all our children, whether they live on Arab or Israeli soil, and we owe them the biggest responsibility of providing them with a happy present and bright future.”

Mohammed Anwar El-Sadat

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction.

Blaise Pascal

“Although it is true that only about 20 percent of American workers are in unions, that 20 percent sets the standards across the board in salaries, benefits and working conditions. If you are making a decent salary in a non-union company, you owe that to the unions. One thing that corporations do not do is give out money out of the goodness of their hearts.”

Molly Ivins

Noah’s Ark : Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah’s Ark .. ONE: Don’t miss the boat. TWO: Remember that we are all in the same boat! THREE: Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark. FOUR: Stay fit. When you’re 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. FIVE: Don’t listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done. SIX: Build your future on high ground. SEVEN: For safety’s sake, travel in pairs. EIGHT: Speed isn’t always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs. NINE: When you’re stressed, float awhile. TEN: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. ELEVEN: No matter the storm, there’s always a rainbow waiting. Most people walk in and out of your life, but FRIENDS leave footprints in your heart.

Unknown

“We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven into an age of unreason if we dig deep in our history and remember we are not descended from fearful men — not from men who feared to write, to speak , to associate with and defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular. . . .(Senator McCarthy) didn’t create this situation of fear, he merely exploited it, and rather successfully. . . Cassius was right, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”

Edward R. Murrow

Congress is not preparing to defend the people of the United States. It is planning to protect the capital of American speculators and investors…. Incidentally this preparation will benefit the manufacturers of munitions and war machines…. Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought! Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder! Strike against preparedness that means death and misery to millions of human beings! Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction! Be heroes in an army of construction!

Helen Keller at Carnegie Hall January 5, 1916

We used to wonder where war lived, what it was that made it so vile. And now we realize that we know where it lives…inside ourselves.

Albert Camus

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil … is for good men to do nothing.~~

Edmond Burke

'The law is meant to be my servant and not my master, still less my torturer and my murderer'

James Baldwin, The Nation, 7/11/66

When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and the princes are home, When the shephers are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among brothers and sisters, To make music in the heart.

Howard Thurman

“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murder is less to fear.”
Quote by:
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Roman Statesman, Philosopher and Orator
Date: 42BC

there is no longer any doubt as to whether the (Bush) administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account.

Maj. Gen. Antonio, M. Taguba / Investigator of Abu Ghraib

There is no present or future, only the past, happening over and over again, now.

Eugene O'Neill

It's coming to America first,
the cradle of the best and of the worst.
It's here they got the range
and the machinery for change
and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.
It's here the family's broken
and it's here the lonely say
that the heart has got to open
in a fundamental way:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Leonard Cohen

The Republican Party is doing a great job in provoking such a dangerous episode by making consensual governance impossible in a time of awful practical problems and challenges. They’re in the process, right now, of transforming themselves from the party of “no” to the party of no decency, no common sense, no ideas, no conception of the public interest, and no respect for the traditions that they pretend to stand for, like due process of law. In the days since the passage of health care reform, they’ve gone as far as inciting mobs to violence against their fellow congressmen and senators — bricks thrown through windows, death threats made, coffins placed in the yards of their adversaries. One day soon, somebody with a gun or an explosive device, someone with a very sketchy sense-of-self, and perhaps a recent record of personal failure and humiliation, is going to sacrifice himself to become the Tea Party’s first martyr by shooting up a shopping mall in some blue district.

James Howard Kunstler

The bottom line is this: Peace will come to Israel and the Middle East only when the Israeli government is willing to comply with international law, with the Roadmap for Peace, with official American policy, with the wishes of a majority of its own citizens–and honor its own previous commitments–by accepting its legal borders. All Arab neighbors must pledge to honor Israel’s right to live in peace under these conditions. The United States is squandering international prestige and goodwill and intensifying global anti-American terrorism by unofficially condoning or abetting the Israeli confiscation and colonization of Palestinian territories.

Jimmy Carter / Palestine Peace Not Apartheid

'God shouldn't be put in charge of everything until we get to know Him a little better' Kurt Vonnegut, The Nation, 11/28/81

Kurt Vonnegut, The Nation, 11/28/81

Hope........And it is not a dream of a fancy proud,
With a fool for its dull begetter;
There's a voice at the heart that proclaims aloud--
'We are born for a something better!'
And that Voice of the Heart, oh, ye may believe,
Will never the Hope of the Soul deceive!'

Friedrich Schiller

'Newt Gingrich is a stupid person's idea of a smart person.'

Alan Grayson

Archive for the 'US Middle-East Policy' Category

15 May

The agreement marks a historic moment in the long history of Palestinian nonviolent resistance to unjust Israeli actions

Dear The McGlynn,

Yesterday morning I felt chills talking to our close allies in Palestine/Israel as they shared with us the news: nearly 2,000 Palestinian political prisoners holding one of the largest hunger strikes in history had succeeded.

As details emerge, we should all look to Palestinian civil society leaders to interpret the nuances of the agreement.But for now, there is one thing all of us can all agree on. This agreement marks a historic moment in the long history of Palestinian nonviolent resistance to unjust Israeli actions.The success of the massive hunger strike may very well inspire a new generation of unarmed struggle.

Yesterday, as long term strikers entered their 77th day, and 2,000 more approached a full month of refusing all sustenance, Israel was compelled to allow family visits for prisoners from Gaza, end the policy of solitary confinement, and significantly reduce and limit the use of detention without trial, also known as administrative detention.

The hunger strike inspired unprecedented support throughout Palestinian society and the world. And Jewish Voice for Peace supporters were an important part of the story.

The leaders of unarmed resistance in the villages of Palestine, the Popular Struggle Coordinating Committee, came specifically to Jewish Voice for Peace to ask for our help.

And we did not let them down!

Just hours before the strike ended, we delivered our 8,000 signatures to the United States State Department with our friends at the US Campaign to End the Occupation. And over 500 of us from 350 cities around the world had already volunteered to lead solidarity protests on Thursday. Many thousand more were set to join us.

The news yesterday is surely cause for celebration, and it’s also a great reminder of what will be possible if we redouble our efforts in the nonviolent movement for justice in Palestine/Israel. This morning our allies in Palestine/Israel issued a statement about the hunger striker victory and a call for further action.

Click here to read more from Palestinian leaders about the hunger striker victory and what you can do now!

Stefanie Fox,
Jewish Voice for Peace

Posted in General, Human Rights, US Middle-East Policy by: The McGlynn
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27 Apr

Thank you 60 Minutes – 45 year-old illegal Israeli occupation

***************

The Petition:

Thank you, Bob Simon and 60 Minutes, for your segment on the Palestinian Christian exodus from Israel-controlled territory. Journalists who tell the painfully honest truth about Palestinian life under occupation deserve our thanks, not political attacks.

Sign the petition to be sure that CBS hears from supporters for its brave and truthful reporting.*

[1]Before the broadcast aired, the Israeli Ambassador to the US pressured CBS not to air the segment (with the knowledge of the Israeli PrimeMinister)

[2] and the Jewish Federations of North America asked supporters to make sure CBS would be “flooded with responses” for daring to be “highly critical of Israel.”

[3] The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin reported that 60 Minutes received at least 29,000 messages, many of them from the far-right Christians United for Israel.

[4] Finally, the attacks were echoed by U.S. Jewish groups such as the Anti-Defamation

League [4] and Bnai Brith. [5]

Footnotes:
(1) Ha’aretz, April 23, 2012: Netanyahu
was briefed on efforts to stop ’60 Minutes’ report on Israel’s
Christians
(2) Jewish Federations, April 22, 2012: “60
Minutes” Broadcast on Palestinian Christians
(3) Right Turn by Jennifer Rubin, April 24, 2012: Backlash
builds over ‘60 Minutes’ hatchet job on Israel
(4) ADL, April 23, 2012: Letter
to CBS News
(5) Bnai Brith, April 23, 2012: .
“60 Minutes” Report Gives Free Pass to Palestinian Polemic
as Methodists to Debate “Kairos,” Divestment

For more info about the treatment of Palestinian Christians by Israel, read +972′s piece by Yossi Gurwitz.

*This petition is a project of Jewish Voice for Peace, a national grassroots organization dedicated to promoting equality, democracy and self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Posted in Human Rights, US Middle-East Policy by: The McGlynn
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05 Apr

Campaign 2012′s Biggest Disconnect: Americans Want Out of Afghanistan, Candidates Would Rather Ignore It

The McGlynn: “We cannot fight wars by polls. If we do that we’re in deep trouble,” Panetta told reporters at a press conference.

Panetta, ten and one-half years! We are already deep in trouble and have been for years. My God, what in the hell is in that brain? of yours?

You’d think a ten-and-a-half year war would be a major issue in a presidential campaign — especially a war going as badly as the one in Afghanistan. And especially in the wake of Sen. Jay Rockefeller publicly urging President Obama to speed up the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Maybe if the administration proposed funding a Planned Parenthood clinic in Kandahar, the war might get the place it deserves in the national conversation.

Our political and media establishments seem to regard being in a constant state of war as simply part of the “new normal” (to go along with over 8 percent unemployment). Things continue to go from bad to worse, yet we continue to be wedded to plans for a gradual withdrawal that will leave troops in Afghanistan until some point in 2014.

But even though our leaders don’t seem to feel any sense of urgency, plenty of others here at home do — indeed, the vast majority does. There are, of course, many issues on which our leaders are out of sync with the country at large (too big to fail, punishing those who caused the economic crisis, continued tax breaks for the rich, etc.), but this one is especially egregious, given the toll it continues to take in terms of lives lost, money squandered, and Afghan hatred of us increased.

According to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, support for the war has hit a historic low, at 23 percent, with 69 percent saying we should no longer be in Afghanistan. And the sentiment that the war is going badly is one of the few bipartisan things in this campaign: 68 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of Republicans say the war is going somewhat or very badly. What is more, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, 60 percent of Americans believe the war has not even been worth fighting.

Click to continue reading “Campaign 2012′s Biggest Disconnect: Americans Want Out of Afghanistan, Candidates Would Rather Ignore It”

Posted in Anti-War Movement, Occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, Politics, US Middle-East Policy by: The McGlynn
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06 Mar

Don’t Iraq Iran

75 million Iranians ask: Please Don’t Iraq
Us

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Dear The McGlynn,

A full page ad in yesterday’s Washington Post quotes former top U.S. military officials opposing an attack on Iran.

But Israel’s conservative government wants an attack, …and President Obama’s speech at the AIPAC conference on Sunday was highly praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu.

Tell President Obama: Not Another War!

AIPAC is the powerful “Israel-right-or-wrong” lobby and it is backing Senate legislation (authored by Lindsay Graham and Joe Leiberman) that seeks to require an attack.

Meanwhile, President Obama wants to increase to $3.1 billion the weapons that you and I buy for Israel next year, while continuing to protect Israel from accountability at the United Nations or elsewhere.

Tell Congress and the President to avoid another war, and to do so right now.

A military attack on Iran would be disatrous for Iranians, Israelis, the region and the world — perhaps even worse than the Iraq invasion.

This time, unlike a decade ago, let’s heed informed voices of restraint
(like the signers of the Post ad) and not the frenzied voices of
war.

Don’t Iraq Iran!

Signed,

Aimee, David, Jeff, Sarah and the Roots Action
Team

Resources

A
Tiny Revolution: Openly Lying the World into War Is Always an
Option

Washington Post Ad: Mr. President: Say No to War of
Choice with IranP.S. Our small staff is supported by contributions from people like you; your
donations are greatly appreciated.

Posted in General, US Middle-East Policy by: The McGlynn
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21 Feb

Bahrain……………..Forgotten

Al Jazeera’s Bahrain documentary wins award

Length 50:56

Shouting in the Dark, which follows the unravelling of the Bahraini uprising, receives prestigious George Polk Award.

The journalists behind the Al Jazeera English documentary Bahrain: Shouting in the Darkhave won the 63rd annual George Polk Award in Journalism.Ranked among the US’ most coveted journalism honours, the George Polk Awards – named after an American journalist who was killed covering the civil war in Greece in 1948 – have been administered by Long Island University since 1949.A committee of jurors recognised Al Jazeera’s May Welsh and Hassan Mahfood for producing a film that “gives a voice to the protesters for democratic rights and presents a harrowing, on-the-ground view of their brutal suppression”.

Previous winners of the awards include Seymour Hersh, Ted Koppel and Christiane Amanpour.

It is the second accolade won by the film, which was awarded the UK Foreign Press Association Award for Best Documentary in November 2011.

The documentary, which was first broadcast on Al Jazeera English on August 4, 2011, follows the unraveling of the Bahraini uprising from the initial days at Pearl Roundabout to the chaotic scenes of injured protesters overwhelming the Salmaniya Medical Complex.

The film was shot entirely by Welsh with her field producer, Mahfood, over the course of a three-month period from February to April 2011.

Of the award, Welsh said: “Shouting in the Dark provides a visceral insight into a country that was often overlooked during a time of great upheaval in the Arab world. The bravery and spirit depicted in the film continues to touch the hearts of people across the globe. This award is a proud achievement for Al Jazeera, and recognition of the courage shown by the people I met whilst filming in Bahrain.”

As the crackdown in Bahrain deepened, Al Jazeera was the only international news provider to remain in the country.

“We are delighted to have won such a prestigious and coveted award,” said Al Anstey, the managing director of Al Jazeera English.

“This recognition comes on the back of a series of high-profile award wins for the channel, and is a testament to Al Jazeera’s commitment to put honest, eye-witness reporting at the heart of the global news agenda. We look forward to continue providing award-winning coverage to our growing audiences in the US and across the world.”

Click Above

Posted in General, Human Rights, US Middle-East Policy by: The McGlynn
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Archive for the 'US Middle-East Policy' Category

The agreement marks a historic moment in the long history of Palestinian nonviolent resistance to unjust Israeli actions