Tag: Human Rights

Israel: Boycott, Divest and Sanctions

Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) is a movement to punish Israel for its neglect and punishment of the Palestinian people……but wait!  What is BDS?

In 2005, Palestinian civil society issued a call for a campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law and Palestinian rights. A truly global movement against Israeli Apartheid is rapidly emerging in response to this call.

Learn more
Read the 2005 call in full
What should I boycott?

I am old and cannot get around as I did in my younger days……so I boycott anything Israeli….just my small part……

Sodstream….that cutesy little expensive machine that turns water into some form of soda…..the factory is in the Occupied Territories and is own by an Israeli and the factory uses Palestinians to work the plant at “slave” wages….recent the BDS has done some harm to their bottom line….job well done.

Next is Scarlett Johannson…..she resigned from a humanitarian organization within the UN to become spokesperson for Sodastream……..,I will not watch her movies or anything she does…..tome she is a douche!

Now….if you watch TV you have seen the real estate ads for ReMax…I believe there is a balloon or something featured in the ad…….time for Americans to boycott ReMax……

The Colorado-based real estate firm RE/MAX is profiting from Israel’s relentless theft of Palestinian land.

Active in the Israeli market since 1995, RE/MAX sells and rents houses and apartments in colonies reserved exclusively for Jews in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Much of that work is coordinated in an office that the Israeli subsidiary of RE/MAX runs in Maale Adumim, a major settlement in the West Bank.

A United Nations report published last year suggested that the firm’s parent company in the US could be “held accountable” for assisting Israel’s crimes. RE/MAX International, which is headquartered in Denver, “has constant interaction and influence” over its franchises around the world. The company also provides “brand name affiliation,” training and other services, according to Richard Falk, the report’s author, who was then the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza.

Screen grab from Re/Max site………

DO NOT let these a/holes profit from the theft of Palestinian land!

There are many other situations that are part of BDS….check them pit and do yopur part to see that the Palestinian people get the justice they deserve.

Where’s The Justice?

I recall many people saying……”The US do not and will not support state sponsored terrorism”.  Does anyone else remember those words?

What do we call a country that carries out unreasonable search and seizure, or indiscriminate killing of civilians, destruction of homes and business as a retaliatory action, keeps minorities segregated, limits the rights of some citizens and arrest without due course?  What would you call this state?

Is type of nation has a name and the world call this nation…….ISRAEL!

By now all the world has heard about the 3 kidnapped teens in Israel….but the media has been derelict in reporting the violence used by the IDF in their search for the teens.  there have been many arrests without warrant and the deaths of many among which have been teens.

Israel has used the kidnapping as a pretense to carry out further violence and destruction aimed at Palestinians.  the US has warned Israel to limit the violence….which in itself is humorous for if they do not the US will do NOTHING as a penalty.

As a matter fact they,the US, has shown its true colors and loyalties at the UN…….

A statement by the UN Security Council deploring the deaths of innocent Palestinians during Israeli military operations in the West Bank ended up blocked by the United States today because it mentioned Israel by name.

Jordan was said to be pressing the bill to be stronger, saying “deploring” the deaths wasn’t enough, while the United States insisted that the bill could deplore the deaths in general, but not mention that they were caused by Israeli troops, nor indeed mention Israel at all.

UN undersecretary for political affairs Jeffrey Feltman warned the rising death toll in the West Bank was “alarming,” saying Israel needs to show restraint while searching for three kidnapped teens and to “avoid punishing individuals for offences they have not personally committed.”

That’s likely a foreign concept in Israel, where collective punishment of the Arab minority is such a default reaction that top Israeli cabinet ministers are openly calling for the government to shut down all electricity to all Arab towns in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in retaliation for the kidnappings.

The violent military crackdown in the West Bank has come with cooperation from the Palestinian Authority, and is fueling growing protests among Palestinian civilians against the PA forces as well.

Why does the world turn a blind eye to what Israel will do?  It is time for their grace period for wrongs done to them in the past to expire…..it is time for Israel to start acting like a player in the civilized world and not the barbarians they are today.

I mean Israel is even gone so far as to find a way to persecute a teenage rock thrower……..

The government is attempting to make it easier to convict suspects of throwing rocks at passing cars as well as stiffening the sentence for the crime. A draft of a new law that was circulated on Sunday by the Justice Ministry would make it possible to convict and punish the violators even if the state cannot prove they intended to damage cars or injure passengers. In addition, the proposed law would for the first time allow the conviction of those who throw rocks at police cars.

The bill is based on the recommendations of a committee headed by Cabinet Secretary Avichai Mandelblit, which examined how to deal with the security situation in East Jerusalem.

Under existing law, the state must prove intent to cause harm, or base its case on other laws in order to convict rock throwers.

The new draft law states that the crime of throwing rocks at cars will be divided into two categories of offenses: The basic degree, for which the punishment is 10 years in prison, will outlaw throwing rocks or other objects at vehicles in motion in a way that could endanger the safety of a person in the vehicle or someone nearby. The more serious offense, for which the punishment will be up to 20 years in prison, would be for those who are convicted of also intending to cause a person serious bodily harm, by throwing rocks or other objects at vehicles.

The proposed law would also introduce a new offense: Throwing a rock or other object at a police vehicle or a police officer with the intention of interfering in the carrying out of his duty. The punishment in such cases would be 5 years in prison.

Today rock throwers are convicted on the basis of other offenses, such as attacking a police officer, intentionally damaging a vehicle, or attempting to commit one of these or various other crimes. Today’s law also sets a maximum of 20 years in prison for throwing rocks at vehicles while they are moving, if the state can prove the defendant acted intentionally to damage the vehicle.

In cases in which rocks were thrown by a group of demonstrators, the courts have often found it difficult to determine whether the stone thrower intended to cause damage to the vehicle that was hit.

Really?  like being shot and killed by the IDF is not enough punishment.

And then there is this Israeli minister of some sort that has the best BS of the day………

“We are well within the boundaries of legitimate action in the eyes of Palestinian public,” said the officer, a high-ranking member of the Central Command.

“The Palestinian public understands that the kidnapping was an aberration and our response was predictable. They know that we are not working against them but rather against Hamas. The Palestinian public understands that a red line has been crossed.”

Yeah but that does not explain all the people that have their homes, property and family member seized and/or destroyed.  That lame ass comment was meant for the western press as a propaganda tool….not a word of truth in anything they say.

What about free dissent?

The number of Palestinian lawmakers detained by Israel has risen to 23, a Palestinian NGO said Wednesday.

“Israel detained two [Palestinian] lawmakers from the West Bank province of Bethlehem early on Wednesday as part of search operations for three missing Jewish teens,” the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said in a statement.

Israel does very little to hold up the title of the “only democracy in the Middle East”……….they resort to strong arm tactics of which they suffered in the past……and they have a wealth of excuses for their actions….but NONE ring true.  Israel is disgusting and the world needs to demand it start behaving like a responsible world entity…..or cut ALL ties and I mean ALL ties with them.

Sorry it is that simple.

Survivalists Take Heed!

Believe it or not…………..the old professor can write on other stuff than hi normal days writing would imply…….so today I will leave Ukraine and Russia in the rear view mirror and see how many people I can piss off today……

I recall back in the 70’s and 80’s when the survivalist movement was getting all revved up…..I had mixed emotions…..on the one hand I could see their paranoia and on the other I kinda thought they were a bit extreme in the whack-a-doodle sense of the word……..I can see their need to be prepared and to think outside of the box….but the whole black helicopters is a bit……how shall I say this politely…..nonsense.

I will admit that I do have an ample supply of dry beans and rice on hand….but mine is because of those bitches called hurricanes.  I have a knowledge of edible plants around my area and always have a week supply of water on hand….and of course the ever present battery supply…..enough stuff that me and mine can live off the grid if necessary…

Speaking of off the grid………

A Florida woman is in a legal fight with the city of Cape Coral for the right to live without municipal water or electricity—off the grid, as she puts it to WBBH-TV. The city just played a trump card, though: It capped the sewer at the house of 50-something Robin Speronis, so now she’ll have to figure out a way to dispose of her waste by other means, reports the News-Press. She vows to do so, and she similarly vows to fight a judge’s order to hook up to the city water supply. “I know how to live off the grid completely and in a sanitary way,” says Speronis, who began living without most city utilities more than a year ago thanks to solar panels and treated rainwater. The city slapped her with a slew of ordinance violations after Fox 4 did a story about her lifestyle, and the case made it to court last week. A judge gave Speronis 30 days to reconnect to city water, noting that she’d been using the sewer system without paying for it. After the hearing, the city capped her sewer, a move she calls “pure evil.” But a spokesperson says the city had no choice: Speronis hasn’t been paying for the service and made clear she had no intention of doing so.

This brings up a whole array of questions….at least for me……Is it mandatory that we have to use city services?  If so, is that not a violation of some sort?  I see the sewer issue as a legal thingy, but if she had had her own waste elimination system would she still be ordered to reconnect?

Survivalist need to watch this outcome….it could crap all over their living off the grid scenario…….thoughts?

Right Of Expression

I recently read a piece written by Dr. William A. Cook……..first, it talks about the new laws enacted by Israel’s Knesset…..

The flood of anti-democratic laws that were proposed, and partially implemented, by the current Knesset, elected in February 2009, constitute one of the darkest chapters in Israeli history. The opening salvo was provided by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party with its Nakba law, that forbids the public commemoration of the expulsion of approximately 750,000 Palestinians during the 1948 war.

Since then, a growing number of attempts were made to curtail freedom of expression and to make life for human rights groups more difficult. The latest instance is the boycott law that (is) was passed (this) last Monday by the Knesset, even though its legal advisor believes it to be a problematic infringement on freedom of speech.

What stands behind this frenzy of attempts to shut down criticism? The answer, I believe, is fear, stupidity, confusion – and now also a power-trip.

The result of Netanyahu’s and Lieberman’s systematic fanning of Israelis’ existential fears is tangible: polls show that Israelis are deeply pessimistic about peace; they largely do not trust Palestinians, and in the younger generation belief in democratic values is being eroded.

But this pessimism and siege-mentality is not only to be found in ordinary Israeli voters, but also in the political class … They have profound misconceptions about the Free World’s attitude towards Israel, and very little real understanding of the paradigm shift towards human rights as the core language of international discourse. They buy into Netanyahu’s adage that Israel’s existence is being delegitimised, rather than realising that Israel’s settlement policy is unacceptable politically and morally to the whole world.

And then he went on to compare, if you will, Israel and the US….and he offers a dire warning……

What both Israelis and Americans must realise, as these anti-democratic actions by both nations attest, is that democracy in both nations has been subverted in favour of those who command our representatives to actions that betray the essence of democracy and the will of the people. Democracy has been turned over to those who undermine the moral foundations on which it was built: equality for all, justice for all, dignity and respect for all; with government serving the people, not a corporate board. When the representatives of the state determine what people must accept, what they can and cannot do or say; when the power of two nations subverts the will and actions of all other nations, then democracy is dead.

He is not saying that bloggers like myself have been saying for years now…….the Congress is dysfunctional…..rights are being locked in a closet……and the people cannot get past the 2 party system…..sorry to say….but all those are indicators that democracy is in trouble and unless reversed could spell the end……..  (cue Doors song here)…….

What Are Human Rights?

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Political Philosophy/Political Theory

Paper #35

Recently, Quin of Quintessential Havoc (an insightful thoughts that can be accessed from the blogroll) were having an exchange on the subject of human rights and as usual it got me thinking of the subject from a political philosophical point of view….the subject is one of those subjective things that normally means what the person talking wants it to mean…and yes…that would also pertain to me….for I do NOT have the secret knowledge that some of the others claim to possess.

Some claim that a welfare payment is a human right…while others think that democracy is a human right or…..well pick a thingy and someone will believe that it is a human right…..so, what is a human right?

A generic definition would be…..rights to which people are entitled by virtue of being human….universal and fundamental rights…..how is that?

Actually the term ‘human rights’ did not mean much until the 18th century and the “Age of Enlightenment” up until then it was discussed under the umbrella of  ‘natural rights’, if discussed at all.

So what rights can be called ‘human rights’?  to begin with….the right to life…basically, the right to receive the material necessary and essential for life (now this can be debated as to what is meant by ‘essential’…and it is already).  Second, FREEDOM….freedom in a generalized way…the freedom of thought, religion, association and movement are the ones that come quickly to mind.  And thirdly, PROPERTY….(this one is self-explanatory).  Fourth, are laws that concern the individual’s status as a citizen…these would include democratic rights (voting, etc).  The fifth in the series, RULE of LAW…..this would be the equal administration of the laws of the land…no arbitrary arrest and the right to a fair trail……there you go…..these are the rights that come to my mind when I hear the term used.

And yes, there are a few of them that can be debated on their precise meaning and that is for those above my pay grade…..but simply put…if a person understands the concepts then their rights cannot be taken from them…..