Give voice to bloodshed.

Protest against the Gaza massacre.

Date: Tuesday, December 30
Time: 4:30 pm
Where: Israeli Consulate: 6380 Wilshire Blvd.
Contact: 213-251-1025, answerla@answerla.org

If you're a part of facebook, join the protest event group. Read more!

Israel's killing rampage in Gaza.

Since Saturday:
More than 300 Palestinians have been killed. Over 1400 are injured. Hospitals are overflowing with bodies of the dead and wounded. This has been the bloodiest attack since the 1967 War.

This is fucking ridiculous. For the past 3 days, Israel has been dropping F-16 bombs in Gaza. Its reason for doing so is to stop (read: murder) Hamas and other militant groups. However, its attempts to target only militants have been weak, to put it kindly. Israel shows no sign of halting this killing spree. All of this occurred after the 6 month truce between Israel and Hamas expired.

Palestinians mourning the deaths of 3 children.
(Reuters)

And of course, the U.S. is continuing to kiss Israel's ass and furthering putting the U.S. in harms way. Mrs. Condi Rice stated, "We strongly condemn the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and hold Hamas responsible for breaking the ceasefire and for the renewal of violence there."

What a surprise.

The U.N., however, is condemning Israel's severe use of force and holding it responsible for the deaths and injuries of civilians.

If the U.S. acted independent of Israel, then there would be no doubt to who actually prompted these attacks. Here's a concise breakdown:

- Israel's ongoing and illegal occupation of Gaza (legally Palestinian territory) since 1967.
- Gaza militants fire rockets occasionally into Israel in protest of the occupation causing injuries.
- September 2007: Israel declares Gaza an "enemy entity". It cuts off the majority of humanitarian aid, fuel and power in Gaza.
- Israel leads an incursion into Gaza killing several people (alleged militants).
- Nov. 5th 2008, Palestinian militants respond by launching rockets.
- Above event led to the Gaza blockade, which further reduced the amount of humanitarian aid and power that Gaza receives.
- Israel bombs Gaza with F-16s murdering and injuring +300 and +1400, respectively.

The U.S. is condoning the killing of a specific group of people (could be viewed as genocide) by not holding Israel responsible. It is also increasing resentment in the eyes of the majority of the Middle-East, especially in the Muslim population, who probably feel that even when they are the victims, they are treated as terrorists.

Dec. 27th: The chaos and destruction in Gaza
(BBC news)

Read more!

The story of stuff

A little documentary about our infinite consumption. Super interesting and it's animated, so it's quite amusing.

The Story of Stuff

Happy days-off :)

Lemon Pie Read more!

Gaza blockade causes a slew of atrocities.

A baby trying to figure out how to overcome a hurdle.
(Courtesy of www.israels60thbirthday.com)

In September 2007, Israel labeled the Gaza strip, the strip of Palestinian land whose borders are controlled by Israel and which is home to 1.5 million Palestinians, as an "enemy entity". The action of indiscriminately labeling 1.5 million people as enemies came about after rockets were launched by militants in the Gaza region. Regardless of these militants acts, which are inexcusable, a blanket of prejudice against a group of people and their collective punishment by the government is never justifiable.
Since November 5th, however, Gaza's borders have been blocked by the Israeli government due to the breakdown of a five month truce between Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls Gaza, and Israel. This breakdown occurred due to an incursion made by Israel into Gaza and led to the deaths of numerous alleged Palestinian militants. After these killings, Palestinian militants retaliated by rocket launches into Israeli territory, which caused several to be injured.

The blockade of Gaza's borders has caused massive socio-economic devastation. Prior to the blockade, Gaza was already entirely dependent on humanitarian aid. Now, however, the level of poverty, starvation and disease has greatly increased due to Israel blocking the majority of humanitarian aid that is trying to come in. The little aid that is let in is not sufficient enough to sustain the 1.5 million Palestinians. Presently, 46% of Gazan children suffer from acute anemia and greater than 80% of the Gazan population live below the level of poverty.

Furthermore, Israel is drastically cutting off fuel supplies, which is leading to power outages. Gaza has been dependent on Israel on electricity and fuel ever since Israel bombed Gaza's only power plant in June 2006. Without constant electricity, hospitals are substantially affected and the injured and sick are not properly cared for. These people are even denied entry to Israel to get medicalcare, which leads to even further deaths.

Israel has just recently blocked news agencies like New York Times, CNN, AP, as well as, some UN officials like Richard Falk from entering Israel, which means that less people will become aware about this situation and of the ongoing atrocities.

This blockade is nothing short of a Crime Against Humanity.

A video that makes these horrors a little more tangible.
(Courtesy of TheRealNews)

Sources:
BBC
Guardian
United Nations Human Rights Council
Democracy Now!
Electronica Intifada

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Just breathe...

Saalik passed this video along to me (thanks!) and I think it's a nice end-of-the-weekend message.






Courtesy of greenpeace.org and camerlinck on youtube.com Read more!

EPA- the Grim Reaper?

The EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, has been and still is trying to determine whether greenhouse gases (GHG) present dangers to people's health. If it decides that GHGs do present the population with health risks, then it will have to set up regulations to decrease them.

Stop stalling EPA!

I'm not getting what the EPA has yet to determine because it seems fairly obvious that global warming and GHGs negatively affect people's health. The EPA just stated in July 2008 that because global warming will increase periods of extreme heat, those periods will then lead to an increase in deaths primarily concentrated in the elderly, poor and inner city populations. The EPA also pointed out that "In July 1995, a heat wave killed more than 700 people in the Chicago area alone."

U.S. and Malaria
Courtesy of Center for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov)

Furthermore, parasitic-caused diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, have increased and will continue to do so because mosquitoes are able to inhabit higher altitudes that because of global warming, have increased in temperature. Salmonellosis and other food-borne infections will also skyrocket because these peak in warmer months.

Not evidence enough for the EPA?

Well, scientists are studying the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in four cities: New York, Mexico City, San Paolo and Santiago. And they have estimated that by significantly decreasing fossil fuel emissions (CO2), which would thereby decrease other copollutants by 10%, those four cities could "avoid some 64,000 premature deaths (including infant deaths) and 65,000 chronic bronchitis cases." (www.Sciencemag.com)

Fossil Fuel Emissions
Courtesy of Britannica (www.britannica.com)

These are the direct health complications due to GHG and global warming. The indirect consequences are infinite because with an increase in extreme and erratic weather conditions, there will be an increase of destruction and thereby an increase in poverty, starvation and unsanitary living conditions.

So, if the EPA wants to take its time on imposing regulations on GHGs, then it is also needs to realize that it is one of the agents that will cause the potential deaths of millions of individuals.

Even the EPA can't get through all the smog.
Courtesy of www.whokilledbambi.co.uk

Tell the EPA to Stand-the-Eff-up! Read more!

Can't he just leave already?

Courtesy of www. Radicalrags.com

Mr. Bush likes tampering with things his miniscule mind cannot comprehend... like civil rights.

He just passed regulations that would protect health care workers- doctors to janitors- from providing health care services that go against their "conscience". Thus, if abortions or birth control go against their "conscience" (personal, moral or religious belief), health care workers can deny the patient of those services. Furthermore, if the health care facility that said health care worker works for forces he/she to oblige, federal health officials can cut federal funding for that facility.
Saint Obama is already discussing the reversal of this regulation. However, depending on how far along this regulation gets prior to Obama's inauguration, it may take a while for it to be reversed. Senator Clinton and Senator Murphy have already proposed a bill to reverse it. When it does get reversed, Bush's favor to the religious and conservative fanatics, will be another favor of his that has wasted a lot of time and money ( $44 million to implement this bill).

Due to the bill's vague language, this "Right to conscience" can apply to a variety of people and health care issues. For example, health care workers can deny people of sex change operations if it goes against their "conscience". It probably could go as far as denying services to gay people if they don't believe in homosexuality or they believe that it's a sin. Infertility doctors have already denied performing artificial insemination to lesbian couples and unmarried women!

So in conclusion, ladies, singles and gays beware! Make sure to get your doctor's stance on all civil rights issues prior to letting him/her perform any service on you.

Courtesy of www.monetslilies.typepad.com

Read more!

Gas never smelled so good.

Picture courtesy of: http://www.hpsupplies.info/images/Lo-Landfill.jpg

Daydreaming is pretty much an occupation of mine. One thing that always seems to permeate into my wonders is trash. We have landfills full of waste taking up finite space because there are too many people that consume way too much. It seems that the further we advance technologically, the simple and sometimes, most harmful aspects of our lives aren't subject to these advances. However, there is one aspect that is about to get a makeover- trash!
The smarties at NASA developed Plasma Gasification, a process that uses very hot plasma to break down trash as it simultaneously generates energy. Geoplasma is about to put this process into use in a town in Florida. As Inhabitat expressed, "the plant will use super-hot 10,000 degree Fahrenheit plasma to effectively vaporize 1,500 tons of trash each day, which in turn spins turbines to generate 60MW of electricity- enough to power 50,000 homes!" Gasification can also heat inorganic materials into materials that can be reused for other applications. France and Japan have already implemented this process.

Beautiful Plasma
Courtesy of www.Inhabitat.com

Best of all, Plasma Gasification is much less harmful to the environment than incineration is (how a lot of our trash is handled now). For example, Nitrous Oxide, a greenhouse gas, is 6x's higher when incinerators are used than when Plasma Gasification is. Furthermore, when compared to incinerators, gasification only emits a small fraction of sulfur dioxide, which is a compound that produces acid rain* and negatively impacts forests and streams. This trash-vaporizing process also decreases the size of our landfills, which in turn decreases methane gas, a greenhouse gas.

Attack today,

<3

* Sulfur Dioxide is also a cooling agent, so in essence it decreases the negative impact of CO2 in the atmosphere. Read more!

Talk on your cell and be a humanitarian simultaneously.

Lovelies,

I've been sitting on gold for a days now and I keep forgetting to share the wealth.

Credo Mobile, the greenest phone company operating since 1985, has an offer that is quite legit. Here are the specs for your pocket:

-Credo will buyout your current contract (up to $200)
-If you are on a family plan, they will buy out up to 3 lines (up to $600 in total)
-Credo will give you a new phone that looks sharper than a blade for free
-Credo will also give you a solar power charger for free

!!!!!
The network coverage is through Sprint, so you won't be left in the dark when you're out in the boonies trying to make a call.

AND to top it all of, 1% of your service charge will go directly to a nonprofit organization such as ACLU, Greenpeace and Global Fund for Women. So far Credo has given $60 million dollars to various organizations like the ones mentioned above, as well as, Amnesty International, Doctors without Borders and Planned Parenthood. It helped increase the first fuel-economy standards in 23 years. It protested against Prop 8. It help shut down 30 coal mines. It lobbied against the War in Iraq. Being socially responsible isn't just a fad for them.

The only catch is...

The offer expires December 18th, 2008. I know that's quite soon (my fault!) but hey, there really isn't much to lose.

Don't you want to make a difference while talking to your friends about your refrigerator's new and not-so-pleasant stench?

The promo code is 500226.

Learn more about Credo and Act Peace:

An Easy Way to Spread Peace Read more!

President Unprecendent

Hello my little balls of joy,

Mr. Bush and his glorious team of do-gooders are at it again.

After using torture and extraordinary rendition, which is the act of transferring (read: kidnapping) suspected terrorists to a state that is torture-prone, Mr. Bush may use his presidential power to pardon his administration officials from criminal charges. And of course, we should expect no less from him.

This would be another unprecedented act for Mr. Bush.

Although, under the constitution, the president is given authority to grant pardons for federal offenses, this administration had already clearly violated the Constitution when it authorized the use of torture. Furthermore, by granting pardons prior to his torture-team even being charged, those pardons would then block the conduction of criminal investigations or prosecutions.

If the Bush administration feels as though it has followed the Constitution, then why not let criminal investigations occur? If it has performed no illegal act, then it has nothing to hide.

In any case, we must make sure that Bush hears our protests. We cannot let him preemptively pardon. We cannot let the truth be hidden from us.

Act Peace:
Say No to Pardons Read more!

You may want to wash your eyes out with soap after this.

Sometimes we need to see disturbing images for the sake of rising to action. The world isn't always such a pretty place.

*WARNING: Highly graphic content. Please stop consuming food prior to watching. This may provoke you to write me hate letters.

Furry Bunnies:


Kentucky Fried-Stomped-Beaten Chicken




To learn more or act peace:

the Humane Society Read more!

Manufactured freedom.

(Photo by Guille on flickr.com)

It is a part of our genetic code to need to be free. The question of freedom arises at least once in one's life. It will be a question of finding freedom from the possessions that consume us. We will look outside ourselves to search for this fictional land of freedom. Our need will materialize but only out of our desperation. We will be in the land of Manufactured Freedom and we will be satisfied. But to look outward only keeps us from liberty's authenticity. It is from within us that we find freedom. It is only from within that we can strip ourselves from what binds us- the norms and propaganda of society. Once we search within, we will then be free from all that holds us in place. Read more!

Israel-Palestine: As brief of a history as it can be.

Graffiti stencil on the "Segregation Wall" of West Bank
(Courtesy of Banksy)

Sunshines,

Most everyone knows that there is and has been conflict between Israel and Palestine, primarily over land and occupation. However, many times, the depth of that knowledge hardly punctures the surface.

Learning about its history will give us a better understanding of what is going on not only with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict now but will also give us insight into why Western and Middle Eastern relations are so poor. This will also keep us from assuming that all Arab people are inherently terrorists and are angry without foundation. By the U.S. constantly referring to Israel as "our closest ally", it is in essence condoning Israel's actions and reprimanding Palestine's. To make matters worse, the U.S. gives Israel a significant amount of foreign aid (one of the top recipients), most of which goes to military aid. Thus not only does the U.S. verbally align itself with Israel, it funds a great majority of Israel's activities. With this in mind, here's a brief history, for my benefit and hopefully for yours:


The anti-Semitism in Russia and Europe in the late 19th century led to a rise in Zionism, the Jewish national movement. Zionists wanted to have Palestine as their own Jewish state because of the reference of Eretz Yisrael (Palestine) in the Hebrew Bible.

Post World War I and the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, many countries under the once Ottoman rule came under British rule, only in the capacity of administrative assistance and advice. Palestine was the exception.

In 1917, Britain implemented the Belflour Declaration, which sought to establish a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. Between the years of 1922-1947, the Jewish population increased significantly. Violence erupted on both sides, which led Britain to pawn off the country and conflict to the U.N.

Current map of Israel/Palestine

(Courtesy of wikipedia.org)

Thereafter, the U.N. proposed to divide Palestine into two states, one being Israel (Jewish state). In the proposal, Jerusalem was set out to be internationalized; however, after the 1948 war, Israel occupied a great portion of it. The 1948 war also resulted in the expansion of Israel to 77% of Palestine.

Palestinian Refugees after the 1948 war
(Courtesy www.ccun.org)

Another war occurred in 1967, which ended in Israel occupying the remaining territories, including the land that was once controlled under Jordan and Egypt- The West Bank and Gaza Strip. The rest of Jerusalem came under the control of Israel as well. Due to this, 1/2 million Palestinians emigrated.

Refugee Post 1967 War
(Courtesy of kinghussein.gov)

In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon with the intention to dismantle the Palestinian Liberation Organization, PLO, which was a group that wanted to give voice to and fight for the Palestinians in refugee camps in Lebanon. A ceasefire was agreed upon when Israel guaranteed the safety of Palestinians in the refugee camps. In return, Palestinians withdrew from Beirut, Lebanon. Compromising the promise made, Israelis committed a large-scaled massacre of Palestinians in two refugee camps.

A snapshot of the massacre.
(Courtesy of ccun.org)

A mass uprising (intifada) against the Israel occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (West Bank & Gaza) occurred five years later (1987). Due to the methods of force used by the Israelis, an estimated 1,100 Palestinians were killed by Israelis while 160 Israelis were killed by Palestinians.

1st intifada: Palestinian child throwing stones at Israeli tank.
(Courtesy indymedia)

Various peace talks and negotiations took place between 1991 and 2001; however, the talks for the most part were inconclusive.

A second intifada occurred when Ariel Sharon, Israel's Prime Minister, visited Temple Mount, which is regarded as holy in both Islam and Judaism. Chaos and destruction ensued.

Palestinian vs. Israeli Casualties after 2nd intifada
(Courtesy of wikipedia.org)

Israel built a separation wall in West Bank located in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in 2002, which was considered illegal by the International Court of Justice. When the wall is completely built it will span 420 mi, which compared to the Berlin Wall, 96 mi, is mammoth. Palestinians are now forced to go through hundreds of Israeli-controlled checkpoints to not only get into Israel, but also to get into their own territories- West Bank and Gaza.

A line of Palestinian's in the morning that are trying to cross onto the other side.
(Courtesy of MIT)

In 2005, Israel withdrew its troops from the Gaza Strip; however, it
has kept complete control over its "borders, seashores and airspace."

Currently there are more than 4 million Palestinian refugees out of the total 8 million Palestinian population.

Majority of info from: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/ngo/history.html Read more!

Hello again!

We knew this was going to happen:

Hilary Clinton is Secretary of State.

Obama picked her on Monday.

This was an amazing move. I'm sure many Hilary supporters feel that their voices will now be heard and their views will be rep'd in the government. Perhaps this repairs their wounds from when Obama didn't choose her for vice president.

Mr. Smartypants Obama,

<3 Read more!