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Syndicate
But are YOU going to be the one who convinces Netanyahu, Harper and Bernie Farber of that?
Nonsense. Everything happening in the Arab world has to do with capitalist imperialism, and Israel is the standard-bearer for imperialism in the Middle East.
Do you think it's a coincidence that the autocratic governments in the Arab world, backed by U.S. and Canadian imperialism, are all on friendly terms with Israel?
Falling Arab dictatorships and Israeli government panic:
I see Israel as an Imperial anachronism. Its existence is completely at odds with actual reality.
The people who advocate for this neo-colonialist project are in fact, insane. At least as far I can see.
Hi Enduro Man. Please don't use the word "insane" to characterize folks who you (and most of babble) vehemently disagree with.
Thanks.
Yeah, it's offensive to those of us who really are insane.
No, M.Spector it's offensive to people dealing with mental health issues. And it's not negotiable.
Everything is negotiable. Insanity is a legal term. Mental health issues are not. We must support and help those with mental health issues, many of which are a result of capitalism. Those who support zionism, racism, oppression and imperialism are insane. They are legally psychopaths.
Hi safetysue.
Using terms that apply to real people who are labeled and further traumatized by the psychiatric system in a casual, throw-away, insulting manner is not okay on babble and is in fact not negotiable.
It's a weird place. We can call them murdering genocidal fuckwads. But we can't call them insane, looney, etc.
And I tend to think of them as megalomaniacal psychopaths all the time.
Dear Fidel: Megalomaniacal psychopaths might complain that you are insulting them. Be careful. You are being moderated.
Insanity is a legal argument, in the court of laws. It has nothing to do with labelling in the real democratic world of real people. By real human beings. Humans with compassion and understanding. We do not label anyone who is one of our own. Even the homeless person shouting obscenities in the streets of downtown Toronto cannot be labelled. This human being is working out the evil that our system has instilled within.
My mother was labelled, tossed into the system and never was the same. After six kids in six years by the age of 24, after a war and migration to a land that did not accept 'strangers', I might be depressed and tired as well; and I'm sure some people would like to label me a litte #@%$ as well. But recognize that mental illness is not synonomous with insanity. Remember, Insanity is a legal term, conjured up by our ruling class to toss people they feared into the darkness without help or hope.
Do not let the lexicon of the ruling class overwhelm you or steer you into meaningless debate over a ruling class issue. Insanity is a label created by the ruling class and their legal system. All those "murdering genocidal fuckwads" can pick up a poor person who is homeless and destitute, driven to acts of desperation born of despair, toss them into the prison system, (called mental health system,) and then in a court of law. They can label them 'insane'. Most are victims of a cold and cruel system. When mental health breaks down, it is symptomatic of a system that is rotten to the core.
There is a distinction to be made, - but, we digress. This thread is about Gaza. This thread is about hope. Hope for all of humanity.
May the unemployed find employment. May the children find flowers in their garden of life. May the mothers and sisters be freed from drudgery and allowed the freedom to choose. The day is dawning where people will no longer be labelled. Where people will have names, not SINS and PINS. May the Egyptians find the strength and courage to give all of humanity strength. Until Gaza is free, none of us is free.
Moderate this.
Thanks for that, safetysue. I certainly appreciate your passion and eloquence for Gaza, and I am grateful that you took the time to share what you did. There are many babblers who are all-too familiar with the injustices of the mental health system, and the models and structures of oppression enforced on those living with mental illness in Canada, including one of our moderators. A favourite ex-babbler of mine used to say, incidentally, that she hated the term "person living with a mental illness" first of all because it sounded like there were two of her. Clearly, we, as a society, have a long way to go before we agree upon a vocabulary and grammar to name and talk about one of the last taboos--mental illness.
I think the distinction you mention, between the "legal" and "real world" is often not grasped when used casually to refer to dictators, capitalists, neo-cons, the disenfranchised, etc. So when we ask that such labels not be casually tossed about, we simply ask that we think before we use language that could potentially marginalize others--particularly those most at risk. So, please, in solidarity, respect our simple request: don't speak in ways that can hurt our mad comrades.
Israel Bombs Gaza Medical Warehouse
http://redactednews.blogspot.com/2011/02/ken-okeefe-gordon-duff-new-atta...
Ken O'Keefe on yet another Israeli Gaza attack in full view of the international community and with full impunity
Israel Hold Drill Amid Egypt Protests
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/164602.html
"Israel has held a rapid response drill to guage the abilities of its armed forces as the Israeli ruling class is afraid of the outcome of the Egyptian resolution affecting Tel Aviv. Israeli police spokesman Michey Rosenfeld told Xinhua News agency on Thursday that police and border police units held an exercise on Thursday to deal with 'any possible scenario' in Israel.."
The Circles in the Sky Over Gaza
http://target.ps/en/2011/02/the-circles-in-the-sky-over-gaza/
"People keep talking of a new war...Everyone - groundless news reports or loud rumors - is saying that they can hear the war drums, can't you?"
Pierre Trudeau?
Pierre Fucking Trudeau?
Ah, yes, Canada's own Che Guevara. I forgot.
PET's "Just watch me" still rings with meaning for me...or his response to Indigenous seeking rights: "don't talk to me of your historical might-have-beens"
(Comment about Ethel Blondin edited by myself after the next poster pointed out historical error)
before her time.
In that case, the question is...why did she ever RUN as a Liberal? It's not like they got better on indigenous issues AFTER Trudeau.
WikiLeaks: Suleiman Promised To Stop Gaza Elections
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=207821
"Egyptian VP said he will 'take care of' Gaza, stop Hamas from gaining control, in meeting with Israeli officials.."
Editorial: Egypt, Please Open the Rafah Crossing
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359203
"We, your blockaded brothers, congratulate Egypt. But we have one request: Open the Rafah Crossing..."
Wael Ahmed Kamal Abdul Magd - Ambassador Egypt:
email: egyptemb@sympatico.ca
(please support and pass on..)
Gaza Scholars Ask Egypt to End Siege
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359811
"With a new leadership barely in place, the association of scholars urged a quick reconsideration of the crossing policy.."
From An Israeli Prison to Tahrir Square
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/02/14/from_israel_to_ta...
"The education system was just one element of the remarkable society that Palestinian prisoners built inside Iraeli prisons. They held elections every six months for a prison wide council and steering committee. They divided themselves into committees chaired by the members of the steering committee responsible for education, communication with the Israeli guards, security and intra-prisoner affairs...Israeli guards sometimes revoked the privileges of the prisoners as a form of punishment. The harshest punishment of all was the confiscation of pens, paper and books. Books, according to Sami, were the prisoners souls.."
Egyptians Marching to Gaza Border
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168407.html
"Hundreds of Egyptians are marching to the country's border with the Gaza Strip to demand that it be opened.
They are currently in Al Arish, about 50 kilometres from Rafah. Press TV correspondent Roshan Muhammed Salihis is also in Al Arish, where he spoke to several of the Egyptian activists who told him they plan to hold a demonstration on the border on Sunday, with the aim of entering the besieged territory.
Another member of the Tahrir4Gaza campaign told Press TV 'If we are refused entry to Gaza, we are thinking about setting up a permanent camp at the border.
This is a test of whether this reality is the new Egypt, or whether the old Egypt remains."
GO Egypt GO!
Tahrir4gaza Update 6 March: Delegation and Cement Blocked by Egyptian Authorities
http://tahrir4gaza.net/delegation-and-cement-blocked-by-egyptian-authori...
"Now the Egyptians are saying no to the delegation and cement. This is just like the Mubarak days. The Egyptian Army was formally notified of this delegation, so any refusal will be by order of the Army. Hopefully they correct themselves; either way Rafah will be open, it is merely a matter of time.
Call Egyptian Embassies! Let them know that there is no Mubarak and thus the Egyptian blockade of Gaza is no more. The Palestinian government and people are waiting to receive the Tahrir4Gaza delegation and the symbolic bag of cement, today should mark the end of Mubarak's blockade."
New Egyptian siegemasters same as old Egyptian siegemasters. What 'revolution'?
Post Mubarak, Egypt-Gazan Crossing Rules Tighten
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=366079
"Getting out of Gaza is harder than ever, almost a month after former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak handed over power to a special military council, travelers reported. From the start of the Egyptian revolution in January, Gaza residents expressed hope that a change in the Egyptian regime would lead to the easing of restrictions at the Rafah crossing, which connects the coastal enclave to the Arab world.
'You can't cross to Egypt, for security reasons, is the only explanation you hear,' one traveler told Ma'an, saying he heard a man in front of him with medical papers turned back on the same grounds. 'It's the same suffering and the same pretext we hear when we try to cross via Israel's Erez crossing in the north,' he said."
Egypt's MB Urges Army To End Gaza Siege
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171551.html
"A major Egyptian political party, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) has demanded that the country's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces take action in breaking this siege of Gaza. The opposition group also called on all Arabs to take a decisive stand against the siege that has been 'suffocating the lives of the people in Gaza'..."
Egypt To Open Rafah Border Crossing
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/177238.html
"Egypt is preparing to permanently open the Rafah border crossing in a move that would allow people and goods to enter and exit the Gaza Strip.."
Think that this will change the route of the Flotillas?