There are pages. And pages of them. Too many to read. Well, just scan through and net it out: 150. That's a lot. But do what with them? Select filename and ... click the Checkbox, then Click Delete.

Your skin prickles a little, doesn't it? Then a little more. They're still there in the trash. Drag 'em out and have a closer look. Here's one: Mohammed Fo'ad Hjazi, 4. Four! Was he wearing his brother's hand-me-down sneakers and a T-shirt with silly cartoon on it?

Here's a 50-year-old. Did he sell car parts and smoke too much? Was he on the phone with his wife when the jets were streaking and the building was bombed?

As Jim Manly, former Canadian MP (1980-88) and retired United Church Minister, continues to be detained in Israel with many of the other crew members of the Estelle, without any news about when he will be released.  This despite freeing the Greek, Italian and Spanish citizens who were on the Estelle and the release of Israeli activists after being detained and charged. 

Elik Elhanan, one of the Israelis released, said that excessive force and tasers were used against them and that a Greek MP was beaten by Shabak Security Service interrogators.

Jim Manly must be released immediately! 

My parents want to raise awareness. My mother, Eva Manly has said she would like the media to focus on the Palestinians of Gaza, and that this story is not about my dad.

My parents concern is with all Palestinians and with the courageous Israeli Jews who work with them for justice. They are the reason for my parents involvement in the Gaza Ark. My father, Jim, spent some time with his youngest grandson just before leaving for Gaza. He said that this reinforced for him his conviction that all children have a right to grow up healthy and with the possibility of a future. 

In response to a request by Gaza Action Ireland and the flotilla steering committee, the noted social activist and philosopher Professor Noam Chomsky has made the following statement tonight in relation to the hijacking by Israel of the SV Estelle and the ongoing blockade of Gaza: 

I’m here in Gaza, I’ve been here for several days. I was here hoping to greet the latest boat from the Flotilla, the Estelle. We were waiting at the Gaza port.

The boat, like earlier ones, was hijacked by the Israeli navy. They call it Israeli territorial waters, it’s actually Gazan waters or international waters, Israel has no right to those waters.

The Estelle was another effort to break the siege, as in some way is our visit.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is concerned about the treatment of the Estelle crew by Israeli authorities.

The Estelle was attacked by the IDF at 10AM local time on Saturday.  

Eighteen hours later the crew had still to meet consular representatives or lawyers. Circulating reports about the use of force and tasers during the attack on the Estelle increase our worries about the well-being of the crew members.  

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is also concerned about reports that Israeli crew members were transferred to Ashkelon prison and will face persecution.

Where did the journey begin that led to my husband, former NDP MP Jim Manly, accepting the invitation to be the Canadian on board the Estelle, the Freedom Flotilla boat sailing for Gaza to break the blockade?

Our decision was a joint one, a result of 53 years of working together as a team and supporting each other in both individual and joint pursuits. When Jim and I first met, I was attracted to his sense of humour, his ability to think “outside the box”, and the fact he did not fit my stereotype of clergy! After all these years, we still make each other laugh and are still able to surprise each other.

Israeli peace activist Yonatan Shapira, who had been a combat pilot in the Israeli Air Force and refused to take part in the bombing of Palestinian cities, has arrived on board the Swedish boat “Estelle” which is making her way towards the coast of Gaza. When the Estelle passed near the shores of Greece, Shapira and other activists made their way in a motorboat, evading vessels of the Greek Coast Guard which sought to bar their way. “Along with the Greek Coast Guard we saw a ship which seemed very much like an Israeli Navy vessel, though it did not fly a flag” said Shapira. He was received with cheers by activists already on board.

We received a message from the Finnish foreign department (the Estelle is sailing under a Finnish flag), that their Israeli counterpart informed them that the Estelle will be boarded on international water, and its passengers brought to the Israeli port of Ashdod. 

"If the Israelis carry out their threat this would be another act of piracy and kidnapping to enforce the illegal and inhuman blockade of Gaza," said Irene MacInnes of the Canadian Boat to Gaza. "The world should not remain silent anymore," she added. 

The Estelle is currently in international waters approx. 120 NM (Nautical Miles) from the shores of Gaza. Jim Manly, retired Canadian MP, is on board.

It's funny stuff, marine paint: thick and gloppy, it sticks to painted metal to cover up rust patches, and also sticks to your hair, clothes and skin every chance it gets. Painting would not have been my activity of choice on an hot September afternoon at sea, but skipper Mika was adamant about dealing with rust spots on the Estelle, so that is what we did on some of my watches.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition tall ship, The Estelle is on its way to Gaza carrying parliamentarians from Greece (Vangelis Diamandopoulos), Norway (Aksel Hagen), Spain (Ricardo Sixto Iglesias) and Sweden (Sven Britton); and a retired Canadian parliamentarian (Jim Manly - see his personal message below).

Also on board the Estelle now are citizens of Canada, Finland, Greece, Israel, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden. All are peaceful civilians committed to non-violence.

The Estelle carries a cargo of aid to the Israeli blockaded Palestinian population of Gaza, but above all it is carrying a cargo of solidarity.