General News

Protest Tent Cities Demolished in Israel as Social Justice Activists Vow a Return to the Streets

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Tel Aviv’s iconic tent city on Rothschild Boulevard – where Israel’s social justice protest movement was born three months ago – was demolished today by municipal authorities and police amidst the anguished cries of those being evacuated and the angered chants of activists. Many of the evicted, who were homeless and have nowhere else to go, had found refuge in the tent city. They had also taken solace in the movement’s efforts to fight for economic justice on their behalf and on behalf of millions of lower- and middle-class Israelis struggling to survive as the gaps between the rich and the poor grow. Oren Ziv, a photojournalist for Activestills – a collective of independent photographers in Israel – witnessed the eviction of protesters and the homeless from their tents, and captured these powerful images:

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Meanwhile, Daphni Leef – the face of Israel’s protest movement and the woman who began everything on July 14 when she camped on Rothschild Boulevard as an act of civil disobedience – has pledged a return to the massive street rallies that rocked Israel this summer. This pledge was made after protest leaders unanimously rejected recommendations for economic reforms made by the Trajtenberg Committee – a panel established by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in August amidst the intense pressure of swelling protests and plummeting public opinion.

General News

Speakers for the "Values Voter Summit" 2011

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The Values Voter Summit will be held this week in Washington (October 7-9, 2011). For only $99, plus housing, food, and transportation costs, summit attendees will have the opportunity to hear a wide array of right-wing speakers, including not only the usual suspects but also the leaders of some up and coming organizations. Since I believe it is important to know what is being said on the Right, I thought it might be useful to compile a list of Summit speakers with links to some of the interesting websites. The first group of speakers at the Summit includes all of the GOP presidential hopefuls, except for Jon Huntsman: Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum. Sarah Palin has not yet confirmed but is listed on the conference website.

General News

U.S. Freezes $200 Million in Humanitarian Aid to Palestinians Over U.N. Statehood Bid

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As the Obama administration aggressively works behind the scenes to derail Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ statehood bid at the U.N., The Independent is reporting that Congress has been involved in its own secret, targeted assault on the Palestinians. In what can only be described as a form of collective punishment against the Palestinian people for the PA’s multilateral efforts at the U.N., Congress has blocked nearly $200 million earmarked for USAID by the Obama administration. The funding was designated for a multitude of humanitarian, educational and infrastructure projects in the West Bank and Gaza, including food aid programs for the poor, health care initiatives and pre-school Sesame Street workshops. The funds have been secretly frozen since mid-August by several Congressional committees in response to Abbas’ defiant U.N. bid. They were slated to be transferred before the end of the fiscal year, which ended today.

General News

Occupy Wall Street Spreads to Over 50 Cities, Reflecting Israel's Social Justice Protests and Arab Spring Roots

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As the initial phase of Israel’s social justice protest movement climaxed this summer – with tent encampments dotting nearly every municipality in the country and massive street rallies shaking Israel’s major cities – many progressives in America looked on from the sidelines in awe, cheering Israel’s youth-driven movement. In a diverse array of online venues, people marveled at the protesters’ success and identified closely with many of their central demands – bolstering social welfare programs, strengthening workers’ rights and reforming those capitalist systems that have served to widen the gaps between the rich and the poor. However, while cheering from the sidelines, many in this country who longed for such a movement to sweep through the United States also expressed feelings of envy. Time and again, the following refrains echoed on news sites, blogs and in social media: it can’t happen here. America is too big.

General News

"Enough. Enough. Enough."

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The word was only supposed to be spoken once. Enough. In a prepared speech, upon the printed page, it was typed just once. Enough. And yet, by the time Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had neared the conclusion of his historic speech on Friday before the United Nations General Assembly – as throngs chanted in the West Bank and his English translator choked back tears – Abbas couldn’t say it just once.

Culture

Manufacturing Controversy: Chaz Bono and the “Christian” Right

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I think it is fabulous that Chaz Bono is a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” this season. He is the first transgendered competitor on the show, and one of the first on television, and I think his presence is going to push our culture in a positive, more inclusive direction. And I am appalled by the opposition that his participation has wrought, particularly all the mean-spirited and ignorant comments from people who don’t have any understanding of the experience of being transgendered yet think they can stand in judgment of another person’s choices – especially when the ignorance comes from professionals who ought to know better. That is to say, it’s bad enough that narrow-minded moms are insisting they don’t want their children to set eyes on Chaz – although their indignation begs the question: How would children even know Chaz is not a bio-man, just from watching the show? It is even worse when Bryan Fisher of the American Family Association, a professed Christian, tries to score political points by directing his self-righteous venom at Chaz, venom he usually reserves for Muslims:
Chaz Bono, the surgically-altered daughter of Sonny and Cher, has become America’s newest celebrity by appearing on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

General News

U.S. Pushing "Silent Agreement" to Postpone U.N. Vote on Palestinian Statehood

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According to a report from Haaretz, the Obama administration is engaged in behind-the-scenes efforts to delay voting on recognition of Palestine as an independent state in both the General Assembly and the Security Council. A “silent agreement” is reportedly in place between several Western countries to postpone the U.N. votes through a number of bureaucratic stalling tactics, the use of which are being promoted by Washington. On Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to present an official request to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon which will specify the Palestinians’ desire to seek full U.N. membership through the Security Council. While a vote on the request could take place by early October, sources indicate that the potential exists for such a vote to be postponed by months. According to Shlomo Shamir, there are several options available to the Obama administration for postponement of voting in the Security Council, including the use of closed-door consultations:
If the Palestinian request does go ahead on Friday, the United States can refer the request to a debate inside the framework of informal consultations that Security Council members hold behind closed doors – a procedure that could last weeks or months…a month ago, France distributed a draft resolution that included sanctions against Syria.

General News

Where's the Humanity? Troy Davis & the Radical Right

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[UPDATE – On Monday 9/19/11, the clemency board denied Davis a stay. The NAACP is launching a last resort petition to urge the DA to ask the Judge to withdraw the death warrant]
The state of Georgia may take the life of an innocent man on Wednesday. For nearly two decades, Troy Anthony Davis has sat on Death Row for the 1989 shooting of off-duty White police officer Mark MacPhail. Though Davis has maintained his innocence for two decades and built a compelling case for his freedom, he has exhausted the appeals process and is now scheduled to die. The Georgia Board of Paroles and Pardons has the power to grant him clemency and spare his life.

General News

Abbas' U.N. Gambit: a Bold Rejection of U.S. Diplomacy

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On Friday, after much speculation, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas officially announced that the Palestinians would seek full U.N. membership by going directly to the Security Council, setting the Palestinian Authority on a diplomatic collision course with the United States. The Obama administration, which has vowed to veto any such efforts by the PA, has been engaged in frantic attempts to avert this move by the Palestinians. Why? Vetoing a Palestinian statehood bid at the Security Council will significantly damage one of President Obama’s main foreign policy goals: to cast the U.S. as a champion of Arab freedom and democracy in a turbulent and shifting Middle East. This is why Washington has initiated last-minute talks with Abbas, trying to convince him to forgo the Security Council.