Israeli Forces Kidnap Cynthia McKinney

Israeli forces boarded a ship carrying Cynthia McKinney and 20 others and took them all into custody. The ship was in international waters. It was on a humanitarian mission to Gaza.
In 2008, the ship carrying Cynthia was rammed by Israeli forces.
Her boat was carrying crayons, paint, coloring books, pencils and paint brushes.
22nd June 2009 Video Free Gaza News Press Conference

Two of the organizers, Huwaida Arraf and Greta Berlin, as well as the Honorable Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. Congresswoman from Georgia, held a press conference yesterday in Doha, Qatar. All three called on the world to recognize Palestinian human and civil rightsrights that have been denied for 61 years.

In three days, the Free Gaza movement sails 240 miles from Cyprus to Gaza, its eighth mission to break Israels draconian siege on 1.5 million Palestinians there. In the holds of the FREE GAZA and the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY will be tons of cement, and suitcases full of toys, crayons and coloring books for the children, all items banned by Israels government.

Speaking to Al Jazeera and eight other news organizations, Ms Arraf emphasized, International donors pledged over $4bn to rebuild Gaza, yet none of them are doing a thing about the fact that Israel allows no building supplies into the territory. So 36 of us from 16 countries are leaving on Thursday to tell the world to do something.

The group intends to go at least three times over the summer; June 25th, July 14th, and August 16th, near the anniversary of the first successful voyage.

– Gaza Friends

Spirit of Humanity left Cyprus on June, the 29th to bring to Gaza medical supplies and cement. Mission updates at freegaza.org/live
Update: 07.02.09
Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire Speaks from Israeli Jail Cell After Arrest on Boat Delivering Humanitarian Aid to Gaza

VIEW VIDEO HERE
Irish Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire speaks to us from her jail cell in Israel. She was taken into custody along with twenty others, including former US Congress member Cynthia McKinney, when the Israeli military boarded their ship in international waters as it tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. -- DemocracyNow.org
Cynthia McKinney calls WBAIX from Israeli prison

The latest news:

"Israel on Wednesday reportedly sent home two of the 21 people taken aboard a ship that attempted to break through a blockade and deliver supplies to Gaza.

Authorities released an American filmmaker and a Danish human rights activist, according to freegaza.org, the web site of the Free Gaza Movement, which organized the voyage opposing the blockade."

-- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

___________________

CYNTHIA MCKINNEY--GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES--PRESS RELEASE

Green Party: President Obama and the US State Dept. must demand release of Cynthia McKinney and 20 other human rights activists on Free Gaza relief boat seized by Israeli gunboats

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
READ PRESS RELEASE HERE.

Update 07.02.09 6:57pm

Kidnapped Passengers from the Spirit of Humanity include:
Khalad Abdelkader, Bahrain
Khalad is an engineer representing the Islamic Charitable Association of Bahrain.

Othman Abufalah, Jordan
Othman is a world-renowned journalist with al-Jazeera TV.

Khaled Al-Shenoo, Bahrain
Khaled is a lecturer with the University of Bahrain.

Mansour Al-Abi, Yemen
Mansour is a cameraman with Al-Jazeera TV.

Fatima Al-Attawi, Bahrain
Fatima is a relief worker and community activist from Bahrain.

Juhaina Alqaed, Bahrain
Juhaina is a journalist & human rights activist.

Huwaida Arraf, US
Huwaida is the Chair of the Free Gaza Movement and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.

Ishmahil Blagrove, UK
Ishmahil is a Jamaican-born journalist, documentary film maker and founder of the Rice & Peas film production company. His documentaries focus on international struggles for social justice.

Kaltham Ghloom, Bahrain
Kaltham is a community activist.

Derek Graham, Ireland
Derek Graham is an electrician, Free Gaza organizer, and first mate aboard the Spirit of Humanity.

Alex Harrison, UK
Alex is a solidarity worker from Britain. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.

Denis Healey, UK
Denis is Captain of the Spirit of Humanity. This will be his fifth voyage to Gaza.

Fathi Jaouadi, UK
Fathi is a British journalist, Free Gaza organizer, and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.

Mairead Maguire, Ireland
Mairead is a Nobel laureate and renowned peace activist.

Lubna Masarwa, Palestine/Israel
Lubna is a Palestinian human rights activist and Free Gaza organizer.

Theresa McDermott, Scotland
Theresa is a solidarity worker from Scotland. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.

Cynthia McKinney, US
Cynthia McKinney is an outspoken advocate for human rights and social justice issues, as well as a former U.S. congressperson and presidential candidate.

Adnan Mormesh, UK
Adnan is a solidarity worker from Britain. He is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.

Adam Qvist, Denmark
Adam is a solidarity worker from Denmark. He is traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.

Adam Shapiro, US
Adam is an American documentary film maker and human rights activist.

Kathy Sheetz, US
Kathy is a nurse and film maker, traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.

Israel Uses Chemical Warfare in Gaza

CNN is reporting that the group Human Rights Watch has observed Israel firing white phosphorus into Gaza. Human Rights Watch is demanding that Israel stop. The practice of using deadly poisons on civilian populations is against international law; as is this collective punishment of the civilian population of Gaza. On CNN an Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson claimed last week that they were not using white phosphorus.

As of today, the death toll in Gaza surpasses 900. According to a Reuters report, "Figures from Palestinian medics indicate at least 909 people have been killed. The health minister in Gaza's Hamas-run government said close to 400 of those were woman and children."

The Israeli death toll is thirteen. According to reports, four soldier's deaths were caused by so-called "friendly fire."

White phosphorus was also used by U.S. forces in Iraq. To me the inhumanity of it is a sign that the attacker is getting desperate and is losing the war. Israel is engaged in war crimes and cannot win in Gaza. In the court of world opinion, they have already lost.

No one doubts that Israel is desperate to kill off as many Palestinians as possible in light of the power shift taking place in Washington, but resorting to chemical warfare and the wholesale poisoning the civilian population of Gaza as the world watches is almost too much irony to bear.

Ongoing Massacre in Gaza: IDF Unleashes Cluster Bombs

Cluster Bombs used in Gaza

The massacre in Gaza is continuing. It is not a "war" or "fighting" as the U.S. media likes to term it. It is a massacre. The U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice has either blocked or abstained from measures to end the killing and to calls for a truce. The fact is that the Bush administration cannot be an honest broker of peace in the Middle East. First of all, they are war criminals themselves and need to be held accountable for their crimes against humanity and war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also for the proxy war on Iran through attacks on Lebanon's political party, Hezbollah and for other covert/overt operations on sovereign nations that are conducted worldwide.

This proxy war by Israel on Hamas is clearly a way for the Bush administration to exact collective punishment on Palestinians for electing Hamas in a fair and democratic election.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is as short sighted in conducting this murderous rampage as the U.S. was in its attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan. They are ignoring the will of the U.N. and world community to their detriment. They are incurring worldwide condemnation that will last well beyond this murderous attack -- making it harder for people of Israeli or Jewish descent to get beyond the kind of prejudice that the Germans face/d after Hitler's Nazi regime perpetuated the horrors of the holocaust.

The IDF unleashed cluster bombs on Gaza today. These Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) are condemned by many nations and calls for bans on cluster bombs have resulted in measures being agreed to worldwide to stop their use permanently. Cluster bombs have a deadly and continuing impact on a densely packed community such as resides in Gaza. They disperse and some do not explode until an unsuspecting child or other innocent civilian disturbs them. They either maim or kill the person(s) instantly. Their deadly nature lasts beyond the time when the conflict has ended.

It would be poetic justice if the Israelis finally get another foothold in Gaza and allow for more Jewish settlements in the area (in defiance of international law) -- only to have the deadly WMD traps that they have set for innocent civilians cause a "bloodbath" or "holocaust" that takes the life of one precious Israeli settler.

Further Reading:

An unnecessary war | By Jimmy Carter | Thursday, January 8, 2009 | Washington Post

Cluster bomb ban treaty approved | May 28, 2008 | BBC News

Cluster bombs banned in 34 African countries | Dec. 3, 2008 | www.afrol.com

Nations sign cluster bomb treaty in Oslo | Fri, 09-Jan-2009 | The Norway Post

UN: Israel cluster bomb use in Lebanon ‘outrageous’ | 09.19.06 | Reuters

Israel Terrorizes Gaza

World Bulletin / News Desk Blessings and support to the courageous people of Gaza as they endure the barbaric assault and bombardment of Gaza. This is collective punishment being meted out by Israel in violation of international law. I want Palestinians to know that they have the support of many people in the U.S. We are very sad and angry about the Israeli attack. A friend of mine put it this way: "I'm just Appalled at this pointless SLAUGHTER of the Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has transformed Gaza into a Warsaw Ghetto, starved the families and now BOMBED them, a large percentage children. I Guess "Never Again" means "we will never again be on the Receiving Side of Tyranny- just on the Giving Side." Many are of the opinion that the Israeli Defense League (IDL) is attacking Gaza at this time for two main political reasons. 1) The presidential transition period in the U.S. -- Israel is uncertain about what new policies an Obama administration will implement. After all, in January the UN Human Rights Council demanded "that Israel lift its siege of Gaza and condemned its "grave" human rights violations." And about this 3 day bombardment of Gaza: the UN has condemned Israel's "excessive use of force" as have the many nations, Muslim, Hindu and Christian. Protesters have taken to the streets to condemn the bombing in Arab and European capitals. 2) Since new elections are scheduled in Israel for February, this is a chance for the incumbent party to sable rattle in order to shore up their political position. The assault occurred at a time of political uncertainty in Israel, with elections scheduled for February to choose a successor to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is stepping down in the wake of corruption charges. Likud party leader Binyamin Netanyahu, who leads in recent polls, has accused the government, led by the Labor Party, and the centrist Kadima party, led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, of not doing enough to act against Hamas. Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who leads Labor, said, "There is a time for calm and a time for fighting, and now the time has come to fight." AAP The hospitals and emergency services are overwhelmed with the dead and injured in Gaza. The toll in destroyed lives so far is for Palestinians. The continuing genocidal occupation of Palestine is an international crisis that needs to be addressed immediately by Obama. The IDL is counting on Obama's silence. Silence in this instance is acquiescence. Israel's stated goal is to "destroy Hamas," and they are bent on achieving this goal by any means necessary. The Bush administration has stated unquestioned support of Israel as it has in the pass, so it is up to Obama to stop the violence and to call for peace. Barack Obama must let the world know how he will deal with this dangerous and pregnant turning point in the Arab/Israeli conflict. It is unacceptable for him to defer to Bush and allow the slaughter to continue.

Update 12.29.08 9:34 p.m.:
Came across a quote from Obama which is indicative of his continuing the same policies as Bush. And as I just read from a Robert Fisk article "somewhere to the east – in a cave? a basement? on a mountainside? – a well-known man in a turban smiles."

In the campaign, Mr. Obama made statements that sounded similar to those issued by the Bush administration on Saturday.

“If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that,” Mr. Obama said in July. “And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.”>

NY Times

"There's No Change Like Small Change, and that's Like No Change, at all..."