Magdaleno

DEAR FRIENDS

I thought I would share with you some definitions I found in a dictionary and hope that I can share them with those working on world issues.

CEASE FIRE…An order to stop firing….Suspension of active hostilities; a truce.

PEACE1The absence of war or other hostilities.                                                                        2. An agreement or a treaty to end hostilities.                                                                        

 DIPLOMACY….The art or practice of conducting international relations, as in negotiating alliances, treaties, and agreements. Tact and skill in dealing with people.

NOW FOR MY VIEW OF THE NEWS

1. Shooting in Seattle
2. Got Vote
3. The Bombing of Qana
4. Drink Water
5. Congressman George Miller calls for Cease Fire
6. Honor the Heros

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SHOOTING AT THE JEWISH FEDERATION IN SEATTLE

Naveed Arzal Haq 30 years of age walked into the Jewish Federation this past Friday shouting “ I am a Muslin American . I am angry at Israel” He also began shouting out that he wanted the USA out of Iraq.. Six women were shot and Pamela Waechter was killed.

Injured included

Dayna Klein 37 and 17 months pregnant                                                                          Layla Bush 23                                                                                                                Carol Goldman 35                                                                                           Christina Rexroad 29                                                                                                  Cheryl Stumbo 43

The details are still coming out and we will all read more in the media in the days to come….According to some news reports he has suffered from mental illness and was recently charged with lewd public behavior.

All of us in Seattle were shocked as the news trickled out of the radio and television media outlets. I work down town and on that afternoon our afternoon was interrupted by sirens and emergency vehicles filled the streets. As we learned of the death and injury many of us began prayer for the families of those injured and for the family of Naveed. All of them innocent.

Rumor has it that Naveed had a permit to carry a concealed weapon..How can some one with mental issues be given such a permit….

GOT VOTE                                                                                                                                Take a Moment to Register Some Friends and Family to Vote…

This summer make a pledge to help a candidate you like get the votes they should by helping out a campaign. Register people to vote, give money to the candidates, walk your precinct, and make a lot of phone calls. You do not have the option of sitting on the sidelines during this election.

The Bombing of Qana

60 plus innocent family members died during a recent attack by Israeli fighter planes. This bombing has brought international condemnation…This situation is creating more enemies for Israel and for the USA and this pain will not go away for a long time.

Today the USA propaganda machine cranked out the old footage of the bombing of the USA BARRACKS in Lebanon where 250 marines died some 20 years ago. I feel that they are trying to get us wedded to the destruction of Hezbollah and Lebanon if need be by bringing up the loss of Marine lives some years ago..

I shout at my radio and television when I hear Bush and Rice talking about a Sustainable Cease Fire..First they don’t understand what a cease fire is..it is a temporary truce that stops the violence…it is a cooling off period so that you can come to a lasting agreement…gangs, unions and management, marriages in turmoil, and many others look for a Cease Fire (a cooling off period) so that they can work for a lasting peace.

Bush and his policies don’t know squat about Cease Fires, or Peace Treaties…Just take a look at Iraq…with all the military might and all our money they can do nothing…how can a man who has waged war and never found a cease fire or peace treaty lecture the world …IT IS OUTRAGEOUS…

More innocent people around the world will continue to die because of our inability to assume the leadership role that is ours because our unique place in history. We must become peace makers not just bomb droppers.

Every life is precious…and we should find ways to stop the fighting ..Every day that we wait it is another tragedy in the making…

Call your elected officials and let them all know that this administration is leading us down a black hole of stupidity.

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Drinking Water…

Guess what we need to drink Water…I am reminded that we all need to drink plenty of water every day…this does wonders for our internal health and external health…So join me and drink more water every day…This is the one thing that you can have a lot of and it does not do you any harm …So drink…run to the bath room and enjoy life..

——————————————————————————————————-Statement by Congressman George Miller

U.S. must pursue immediate cease fire

 CONCORD, CA – Congressman George Miller (D-CA) issued the following statement today on the continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.

Miller’s statement is below.

“The mounting civilian death toll in Lebanon and Israel is unacceptable, requiring an urgent effort by the United States and its allies to secure an immediate cease fire between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.

“The Bush Administration has not made an immediate cease fire a priority.  It must use all of its considerable resources and what influence it has left in this region to make an immediate cease fire a priority.

“The civilian death toll, including that of children, continues to mount each day.  Today’s bombing of an apartment building housing Lebanese refugees in Qana, Lebanon, where 65 people reportedly were killed or wounded, is just the latest horrible example.

“The United States must be willing to establish talks with all parties in the region, including Iran, Syria and Hezbollah.   Absent such talks, there is not going to be a solution to the immediate crisis and there will not be a long-term solution to the conflict.  It is only by talking to all parties that the root causes and justifications for the current crisis can be dealt with.  These conversations must also lead to the reinvigoration of the Arab Israeli peace process.

“For too long, the issue of peace in the Middle East has been ignored by Washington as the Bush Administration pursued its other priorities.

“I recognize the difficulty Israel faces in fighting a guerilla army that uses civilians as shields.  Hezbollah’s deliberate strategy of putting the people of Lebanon in danger is deplorable.  The problem for Israel is that it now appears that it will have to virtually destroy every city and village in Lebanon in order to try to destroy Hezbollah, and Hezbollah will have to fire every rocket in its arsenal before victory can be claimed by either party under the current situation.

“The toll of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon in response to the attacks on Israel have become unacceptable.   I am calling on President Bush and Secretary Rice to negotiate with all parties in the region and to press for an immediate cease fire until it is achieved.”

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HONOR the HEROS

In our communities we have common people who do uncommon acts of love and compassion. They help the elderly, the ill, the poor, the homeless, those jailed, they protest war, they work for fair trade coffee, they protect our environment, they protect people from spousal abuse, and they do many acts of kindness and often go unnoticed.

This month of August take a moment to thank these heroes who do so much that helps to make out communities better..honor them in your own personal way…Heroes come in many sizes, shapes, colors, and most with out uniforms… they are your neighbors and  friends…

Take a moment and honor their work and their dreams..

I honor you

leno

DEAR SISTERS AND BROTHERS

 

 

Washington state’s highest court became the second state court to rule this month that same-sex couples don’t have a constitutional right to marry. The ruling shifts debate to the state Legislature.

These lines from the news don’t tell the real story. Last night I attended a rally at the First Baptist Church in Seattle where Gays and Lesbians (the LGBT COMMUNITY), and many community supporters gathered to protest the decision of the court, and to rededicate their lives to changing the laws of this state and this country.

Yesterday the court said No to love. ….I heard from the plaintiffs, the lawyers and others who reminded those gathered that all of us have a right to marriage and all of the protections and public respect that comes with such a union. Love and Marriage belongs to all not just to a few heterosexual few who abuse this right to legal recognition.

I was proud to be amongst so many strong human rights activists last night and was moved by the love of the many couples who spoke. They brought their children, their families, and their love and shared it with us all…It was most moving and inspiring…

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In today’s Ahora I am sending articles that are a most interesting read.

 

NOW FOR MY VIEW OF THE NEWS

1. send in the clowns
2. joe Lieberman’s loyalties
3. bush and the n.a.a.c.p.
4. the aba questions bush’s signing statements

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SEND IN THE CLOWNS…

            This is the circus of death…and destruction

Condoleezza Rice was traveling around the Middle East talking to everyone but Hezbollah.. She was not demanding a CEASE FIRE…and probably wouldn’t know a cease fire if she saw it…She needs to talk to everyone…that is the way you find peace ..Not just by talking with one side.

She is part of the same gang that brought us so called peace and prosperity in Afghanistan and Iraq…This administration does not have any idea about how to find peaceful resolutions. But they do know how to bomb torture and create enemies…enemies that will hate us for being Americans…and they will hate us for a long long time…

Condi has said that these violent events are the BIRTHING PAINS OF A NEW MIDDLE EAST…first she has never had a child so what does she know…about birthing pain….and I never knew that so many people had to die in order for their to be a new birth…so then what is Iraq???…is this a back alley abortion done by coat hangers provided vis a vi bombs and bullets released by our military…???

They say that Condi is on a diplomatic mission but diplomacy is not the strong suit for this Bush administration. She is part and parcel of a propaganda machine against the Hezbollah…She can not get concessions from Hezbollah with her unbridled support of Israel…No matter what side you are on…you should be on the side of peace not on the side of bombs. Every life is valuable and should be protected…

The Bush administration is supposedly sending food and medical aid to Lebanon and at the same time fast tracking the shipping of more rockets to Isreal..Is there something wrong with this picture???  The world is watching and they do not like what they see..

Oh by the way did you hear about the long established UN observance out post that was struck by Israeli Rockets…?? Four individuals died at this clearly marked post …and the Israeli Generals had guaranteed their safety.

The USA needs to be a voice for peace and not condone violence on any side…But today we have a circus of violence…and Condi is the lead clown in this not so humorous three ring disaster….

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JOE LIEBERMAN’S LOYALTIES
By Paul Rogat Loeb

This isn’t the first time Joe Lieberman’s placed loyalty to his career above
all other allegiances. Afraid that Connecticut’s Democratic voters will
reject him in the primary, he’s now hedging his bets by planning to run as
an independent if he loses. “I have loyalties that are greater than those to
my party,” he says, and tries to make this sound noble.

Lieberman made a similar choice in the 2000 election. He hedged his bets
then as well, by running for reelection as Connecticut Senator while also
running for Vice President. It sent a great message of confidence for the
ticket he was part of, but worse yet, had Gore won (as he would have without
the Florida machinations), Lieberman would have had to resign his Senate
seat, and be replaced by a Republican appointed by Republican Governor John
Rowland. Given that the Senate ended up split 50/50 (until Senator Jeffords
left the Republican party), this would have brought about a major political
loss. But none of that mattered to Joe. His prime loyalty has always been to
himself, from the first time he defeated moderate Republican Lowell Weickert
with money from William F. Buckley and from rightwing Cuban exiles.

Of course, Lieberman’s been looking more and more like a Bush-Cheney
Republican as he defends one after another of the administration’s
positions. There’s no clean solution to their disaster in Iraq. But while we
can argue different approaches for withdrawal, Lieberman not only backed the
war initially, but also continues to give Bush political cover on it,
denying the magnitude of the disaster and attacking the patriotism and
judgment of any who’d question our occupation. Although he’s taken a few
decent stands on labor and environmental issues, and that matters, each time
he gives Bush political cover on his most vulnerable issues, he makes it
harder to oppose him on all other questions

Lieberman’s self-created role as political enforcer has a long heritage.
Eleven years ago, Lieberman joined Lynne Cheney in co-founding the American
Council of Trustees and Alumni. Their purpose was to attack dissident
educators, setting themselves up as cultural commissars who took on the
right to decide what was and wasn’t appropriate patriotism when educators
explored key public issues. Their approach would have fit well in Communist
East Germany, but seemed strangely out of place in a democracy, and
Lieberman’s never disassociated himself from it.

Of course Bush might not be even president had Lieberman not hamstrung Gore
by arguing against demanding a full recount of the Florida ballots. Or if he
‘d held Dick Cheney even slightly accountable in their Vice Presidential
debate for stands like opposing the freeing of Nelson Mandela from a South
African prison, instead of cozying up to him in a fawning love fest.  Maybe
it was predictable that he’d support Bush’s regressive energy bill, tax
plans, and judicial nominations.

Lieberman has already gotten endorsement from Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter
and financial backing from major Republican lobbyists. He’s already
suggested that hospitals should have the right to refuse emergency
contraception to rape victims, and force them to go elsewhere in the middle
of the night. Maybe he should just drop the pretense and run as a
Bush-Cheney Republican without any further evasions.

Paul Rogat Loeb is the author of The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A
Citizen’s Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear, winner of the 2005 Nautilus Award
for the best book on social change, and Soul of a Citizen See
www.paulloeb.org.   To
get his articles directly, email sympa@lists.onenw.org with the subject
line: subscribe paulloeb-articles

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Black and Blue

By PAUL KRUGMAN

According to the White House transcript, here’s how it went last week, when President Bush addressed the N.A.A.C.P. for the first time:

THE PRESIDENT: “I understand that many African-Americans distrust my political party.”

AUDIENCE: “Yes! (Applause.)”

But Mr. Bush didn’t talk about why African-Americans don’t trust his party, and black districts are always blue on election maps. So let me fill in the blanks.

First, G.O.P. policies consistently help those who are already doing extremely well, not those lagging behind — a group that includes the vast majority of African-Americans. And both the relative and absolute economic status of blacks, after improving substantially during the Clinton years, have worsened since 2000.

The G.O.P. obsession with helping the haves and have-mores, and lack of concern for everyone else, was evident even in Mr. Bush’s speech to the N.A.A.C.P. Mr. Bush never mentioned wages, which have been falling behind inflation for most workers. And he certainly didn’t mention the minimum wage, which disproportionately affects African-American workers, and which he has allowed to fall to its lowest real level since 1955.

Mr. Bush also never used the word “poverty,” a condition that afflicts almost one in four blacks.

But he found time to call for repeal of the estate tax, even though African-Americans are more than a thousand times as likely to live below the poverty line as they are to be rich enough to leave a taxable estate.

Economic issues alone, then, partially explain African-American disdain for the G.O.P.

But even more important is the way Republicans win elections.

The problem with policies that favor the economic elite is that by themselves they’re not a winning electoral strategy, because there aren’t enough elite voters. So how did the Republicans rise to their current position of political dominance? It’s hard to deny that barely concealed appeals to racism, which drove a wedge between blacks and relatively poor whites who share the same economic interests, played a crucial role.

Don’t forget that in 1980, the sainted Ronald Reagan began his presidential campaign with a speech on states’ rights in Philadelphia, Miss., where three civil rights workers were murdered in 1964.

These days the racist appeals have been toned down; Trent Lott was demoted, though not drummed out of the party, when he declared that if Strom Thurmond’s segregationist presidential campaign had succeeded “we wouldn’t have had all these problems.” Meanwhile, the G.O.P. has found other ways to obscure its economic elitism. The Bush administration has proved utterly incompetent in fighting terrorists, but it has skillfully exploited the terrorist threat for domestic political gain. And there are also the “values” issues: abortion, stem cells, gay marriage.

But the nasty racial roots of the G.O.P.’s triumph live on in public policy and election strategy.

A revelatory article in yesterday’s Boston Globe described how the Bush administration has politicized the Justice Department’s civil rights division, “filling the permanent ranks with lawyers who have strong conservative credentials but little experience in civil rights.”

Not surprisingly, there has been a shift in priorities: “The division is bringing fewer voting rights and employment cases involving systematic discrimination against African-Americans, and more alleging reverse discrimination against whites and religious discrimination against Christians.”

Above all, there’s the continuing effort of the G.O.P. to suppress black voting.

The Supreme Court probably wouldn’t have been able to put Mr. Bush in the White House in 2000 if the administration of his brother, the governor of Florida, hadn’t misidentified large numbers of African-Americans as felons ineligible to vote. In 2004, Ohio’s Republican secretary of state tried to impose a ludicrous rule on the paper weight of voter registration applications; last year, Georgia Republicans tried to impose an onerous “voter ID” rule. In each case, the obvious intent was to disenfranchise blacks.

And if the Republicans hold on to the House this fall, it will probably only be because of a redistricting plan in Texas that a panel of Justice Department lawyers unanimously concluded violated the Voting Rights Act — only to be overruled by their politically appointed superiors.

So yes, African-Americans distrust Mr. Bush’s party — with good reason

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ABA AND THE BUSH SIGNING STATEMENTS.

PHILLIP GARRISON…

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TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH

Recently a friend had a stroke….his wife could not wake him up…and he had to be rushed to the hospital where he is now on life support systems…

It reminded me of how fragile our health is and why we all need to find a way to deal with our life styles and stress….So here is my advice ….eat better, drink more water, eat more raw vegetables and fruits and add some physical activity to your day…

I want you all to be with us for many years as we change this world and make it a better place to live.

My healthier best

leno

Dear Friends…

This weekend I visited relatives, did some gardening and did some day dreaming…  It is hot here….Can you  believe it ….Seattle has been hot for two days…it is most exciting…I was going to don my Speedo swim suit and go to a local beach…but me in a tiny swimsuit is funny and offensive…so I decided just to take a long awaited nap…

 

NOW FOR MY VIEW OF THE NEWS

 

1. world war three
2. can Israel think before shooting
3. sometimes (a poem)
4. refugee all stars
5. I PODs
6. Cell phones
7. Support Claudia Kauffman
8. Give peace a chance

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WORLD WAR THREE

                        How do we know when we are there…

Today you have fighting on several fronts Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel vs. Hamas and Hezbollah, and threats against Iran and Syria… There is fighting on many fronts and too many innocent individuals are being killed.

The USA is a major player in all of this and needs to be a peace maker not a peace destroyer…It is felt that Bush and company  wants to find a way to involve Syria and Iran so that they might have a reason to invade.

Today many innocent individuals are dying …and they will continue to die because we do not value the lives of others. Especially since the children of the elite in America are not fighting and dying.

Israel has a special relationship with the USA and receives 3 billion dollars in aid every year. And Egypt 2 billion plus…(that’s why there is a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt)..Isn’t that a price we can pay to the Palestinians and Lebanese for peace or are we just about destroying them? Inside of Israel you will find many who oppose this military over reaction by their government…Soldiers refuse to fight and pilots refuse to bomb civilian targets…but the major media does not report this.

What does the third world war look like…is it a series  of major battle fields like we saw in WWII or will it be many smaller military fronts that slowly kill a lot of folks one by one….

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Can Israel Think Before Shooting?
By Zeev Maoz, AlterNet. Posted July 20, 2006.

If Israelis do not realize the futility of military force in the current conflict, they will pay the price — not only in the next few days, but in the years to come.

Much of what takes place between Israel and the Hizballah in Lebanon is an outgrowth of Israel’s follies and strategic errors since its 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Israeli troubles with the Palestinians exhibit the same pattern.

Without belittling the Hizballah and the Palestinians’ responsibility to the present clashes, Israel reaps the fruit of a series of entrapments that have taken place over the last two decades. Unfortunately, the military and political leadership in Israel are in a state of continued denial. If Israelis do not realize the futility of the overwhelming emphasis on military force in the current conflict, they will pay the price not only in the next few days, but in the years to come.

The Hizballah, one of Israel’s most bitter enemies, is an unwanted child of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, a reaction of Lebanese Shiites to the megalomaniac plan of Menahem Begin and Ariel Sharon to impose upon the Lebanese people a Christian-dominated state. Hassan Nasrallah, the extremist leader of the Hizballah replaced the more moderate Abbas Mussawi, who was assassinated by Israel in February 1992.

The Israeli military had kidnapped a number of Hizballah operators and spiritual leaders such as Mustafa Dirani and Sheikh Ubeid, imprisoning them for a long time without trial. This induced the Hizballah to kidnap Israelis in order to bring about a prisoners’ exchange. And it had worked. In 2004 Israel released 400 prisoners (including Dirani and Ubeid) in exchange for an Israeli businessman and the bodies of three Israeli soldiers that had been held by Hizballah. The Israeli government refused, however, to include in the deal, Samir Kuntar a Palestinian terrorist who had been responsible for the murder of an Israeli family in Nahariya in 1978. Kuntar is now on top of the current Hizballah list of prisoners it demands in exchange for the two Israeli soldiers abducted last week.

Both in Gaza and in Lebanon, Israel — as if it has been cast into an infinite programming loop — repeats the policies that had failed so many times in the past, by using disproportionate force against weak governments or political authorities that lack the capacity to impose order on their constituents. Israel carried out massive area bombardments in Lebanon in the past (operations Accountability in 1993 and Grapes of Wrath in 1996). Beyond the suffering they inflicted on the Lebanese people and on Israeli residents of its northern border, these operations yielded no tangible results, except for the hurried Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000. Operation Defensive Shields in the West Bank in 2002 did not end the Palestinian Intifada. Suicide bombings and attacks on Israeli military forces and civilians continue to the present day.

Israeli resort to disproportionate force is predicated on a conception of “escalation dominance,” a flawed notion that the massive force can reduce the motivation of its adversaries to attack Israeli targets. Israelis still subscribe to the notion that if a problem cannot be solved by force, it would be solved by applying greater force. The current conflict demonstrates again that the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) lost its capacity to stage surgical operations. It is covering for its incompetence in managing low-intensity warfare by applying massive area bombardments of questionable strategic value, and of unquestionably huge diplomatic damage. Israeli politicians are willing participants in this self-deception.

But all these problems of military strategy pale in comparison to the fundamental weakness of Israel’s foreign policy. Israel may have a well-established military policy, but it does not have a peace policy. This is why Israel so often shoots before it thinks, and why Israeli leaders so often succumb to the military establishment each time a crisis arises. If the current conflict escalates to a confrontation with Syria and Iran, it will be largely because of Israel’s tendency to substitute military strategy for diplomacy.

Instead of searching for a policy that explores ways to stabilize the Middle East and offer concrete peace proposals to its enemies, Israeli leaders are busy preparing military plans for every conceivable contingency. These plans are the first to be pulled out of the drawer whenever a crisis erupts, and are often applied without proper political consideration. A military policy cannot be a permanent substitute for diplomacy. The continued subjugation of diplomacy to security considerations and the domination of the Israeli security establishment on matters of foreign policy are bound to result in the failure of both military policy and of foreign policy.

What can be done? First, it is essential that Israelis open their eyes to reality and conduct a fair and unbiased assessment of the effects of their own past and present policies on their current problems. It is easy — and perhaps politically expedient — to place the blame on the other side, but if history has something to teach Israelis, it is that this practice does not advance Israeli interests or improve its situation. Second, Israelis must change the order of their crisis-management techniques: Political and diplomatic options should precede military ones. Force must be seen as the servant of diplomacy, not vice versa. Third, Israeli political leaders must once and for all place the military and security establishment in its proper place, as serving policymaking, not replacing it. Finally, it is high time Israel started developing a proactive peace policy and offer creative options to advance peace and stability. It has little to lose and much to gain in doing so.

Zeev Maoz is director of the International Relations Program at UC Davis, and former head of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University. He is the author of “Defending the Holy Land: A Critical Analysis of Israel’s Security and Foreign Policy” (University of Michigan, 2006).

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Sometimes

 

Sometimes we look down

Sometimes we forget what is up

Sometimes the water runs dry

Sometimes we don’t notice.

 

Sometimes we hear our favorite song

Sometimes we fail to dance

Sometimes ignorance is bliss

Sometimes ignorance is death.

 

Sometimes our hearts sink

Sometimes the thought isn’t enough

Sometimes it’s outside our front door

Sometimes the distance is great.

 

Sometimes the screaming comes through the TV

Sometimes our brothers

Sometimes our sisters

Sometimes the screams are our own.

 

Sometimes the hatred succeeds

Sometimes love conquers all

Sometimes we look down

Sometimes we need to look up.

 

July 22, 2006.  The war in the middle east has involved many-Lebanon, Beruit, Israel, Palestine-are just a few, but most importantly, the war involves all of us who are fighting to end injustice in this world and who fight for peace every day.

 

By Sierra Smith

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THE REFUGEE ALL STARS…

 

The Refugee All Star rocked their new fans late into the night on July 13^th. The concert was opened with Cuchata a local band that brings some very thoughtful lyrics and good sounds to all.

I want to thank again our sponsors…and all our friends who came, danced, smiled and enjoyed a celebration of human rights….. This concert was the brain child of Janet Lotawa of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project but it took all of you to make it a resounding success….

Lets plan to celebrate again soon …

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Cell Phones…

I am amazed about how much people use their cell phones. They walk and talk which is different from walking the talk … (a mugger could come up behind them and they would never know until the mugging happened) they talk while purchasing items and hold up lines of shoppers while they try to talk, look for the proper change and converse with the store clerk…And then of course they talk while driving which is most serious…it is dangerous and this should be controlled.

I was in a fancy hotel bathroom the other day when I heard conversations coming out of several of the stalls..I could not believe my ears…people having cell phone conversations while they were  there sitting there on the can…I wonder how the persons at the other end of the call felt about all the strange noises coming over their phone???

What do we have to say to one another that is so important that it can not wait…and is this a substitute for real face to face conversations.

Whats next? People having cell phone conversations while attempting to make love…or will it be my doctor taking a call …talking into his blue tooth while he operates on my body….when do we get some control over our cell phones?????

Oh by the by I am also quilty of over use of the cell phone.

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We need you help to elect Claudia…

Friends of Claudia Kauffman for State Senate 47th District (Democrat)                                                                                                             

Claudia Kauffman is a member of the Minority Executive Directors Coalition of King County, serving as Vice President of its Executive Committee. In 2001, Ms. Kauffman co-founded the Native Action Network promoting leadership development, civic participation and community development. She has been a featured panelist at Leadership Tomorrow, Women of Color Networking Luncheons, the University of Washington, and the League of Women Voters speaking on leadership, voter participation, and education issues.

Ms. Kauffman was previously the Deputy Project Manager for the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation’s People’s Lodge Project, overseeing pre-development, planning and community relations. As a private consultant, she worked with the Oglala Sioux Tribe to coordinate President Bill Clinton’s historic visit to Pine Ridge, SD in 1999.

Ms. Kauffman currently serves as Intergovernmental Affairs Liaison for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, working with a strong network of public and elected officials on issues including economic development, natural resources and veteran’s affairs. She administers the Muckleshoot Tribe’s charitable giving program which was recognized in 2005 for its strong philanthropic commitment to local community organizations. As the tribal liaison to non-profit organizations and local governments, Claudia coordinates political, social and charitable events for the Muckleshoot Tribe.

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 845
Kent, WA 98035

Office Address:

1210 Auburn Way North, Suite C

Auburn, WA 98002

Phone: (253) 854-0304

ALL WE ARE ASKING …IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE

Today I was at the church service at New Bethany and we sang the words…LET THERE BE PEACE AND LET IT BEGIN WITH ME. Today for political, financial and ideological reasons folks seem to like war instead of peace. We have all seen thousands of people in Iraq, and Lebanon suffering the ravages of war. There is suffering also in Israel but not as many have died been injured or uprooted as there is in Lebanon…both Israel and the USA will suffer because we did not seek an immediate cease fire..many know that the USA gave Israel a green light to do what it wants…Condoleezza Rice decides after day 12 to go to the middle east but she has made it clear that she is not calling for an immediate cease fire…If she is not going to search for peace then she should stay home and keep and eye on her good buddy bush…

Tonight I will sleep in my bed a bit hot…but not have bombs raining down on me…..I will not have to gather my belongings and rush to a border with my family, my future uncertain…I will instead just go to bed and weep and pray for the many innocent victims…

We don’t need more killings..We need peace…and we have to give Peace a Chance

ALL WE ARE ASKING….IS ……

Peace

leno

DEAR SISTERS AND BROTHERS

Time to start thinking about the fall elections..get you any your friends registered to vote and join in a campaign…make a difference.

NOW FOR MY VIEW OF THE NEWS

1. Refugee All Stars
2. Married at the Supreme Court
3. Rape and Death of 15 year old in Iraq
4. World Cup
5. Paraguayan Surprise
6. Looking to My Plants

REFUGEE ALL STARS CONCERT   Thursday July 13^th

Join us at this historic concert to celebrate the music and dreams of these incredible survivors of the tragic war of Sierra Leone.

Tickets are going fast so ensure that you get your tickets immediately. This show will also feature Cuchata a wonderful local band.

Benefit Concert for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Concert

Featuring the Refugee All Stars of Sierra Leone

   8:00 pm

   Neumos

   925 E. Pike St.

   Seattle

    See more at: http://www.nwirp.org/

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Getting Married in Front of the Supreme Court

A testament to love and respect

Abe Bonowitz and Beth Wood decided to say their vows in front of this very historic building. This ceremony took place at midnight culminating a fast and vigil by many including Abe who had been there for four days protesting the penalty of death.

These lovers both abolitionists shared their love with all in a ceremony that was filled with Jewish and Christian traditions. I was asked to preside over this special event that had in the audience exonerated former death row inmates, the families of murder victims, writers, family and friends. It was a human rights event in every sense of the word.

The bride was brought to the front where she circled the groom seven times (could have been eight or nine times …I lost count)

The readings in both traditions were wonderful…SueZann Bozler who was left for dead, and whose  father a minister was killed by an intruder read from her father’s personal prayer book .SuzAnn’s father had been a minister and was the guiding light for SuzAnne and her life time stand against the death penalty..  She would later fight to save the man who had killed her father and had stabbed her so many times. She wanted a life sentence and not death.

Chanting and praying ancient Jewish prayers Anne Bonowitz, Abe’s mother reminded all of the deep roots of Abe’s family to their Jewish tradition.

Also the bride and groom read from the Ketubah a wedding document signed prior to the ceremony ..This religious document is a personal testament of the couple and their witnesses to their marriage. In addition there was a reading of some wonderful words from an Irish blessing. And then there was the breaking of the glass, reminding us about the fragility of life and why we must protect our love and loved ones.

It seems that Beth and Abe had met in person at this annual protest at the Supreme Court. It was Beth who decided that this would be the best place for them to marry. It was midnight and all of the wedding party was dressed in black except for the bride who was dressed in white and the groom sported black trousers and a white shirt   (guayavera …Latin traditional tropical  ). I looked like a fat Mexican version of Johnny Cash.

I have a hard time keeping to the script of weddings that I perform…and end up slipping in some of my corny jokes.. every one at these weddings are so nervous that they laugh at almost anything…and that is good cause then we can all relax a bit and can have more fun with the event…After all we are there to have fun and celebrate.

Love was in the air on July 2^nd in DC and it seemed to infect almost everyone.

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THE DEATH OF 15 YEAR OLD ABEER QASIM HAMZA

                 The death of way too many dreams.

As of today five soldiers are charged with issues regarding her rape and the murder of her family. This was yet another cover up by soldiers. Today Iraq is filled with sectarian violence and cover ups by the US Military of atrocities committed by poorly trained and poorly managed soldiers. Iraq is a mess and our presence is not helping.

Abee Qasim Hamza and many others would be alive today to enjoy the summer sun and flowers if we had not decided to ride in John Wayne style and shoot up the country. Our invasion and occupation of Iraq has changed their lives forever…We Americans are not hailed as the liberators but are the scorn of all most all the Iraqis.

I wish I could apologize to everyone in Iraq and to the families of American soldiers who have died, been injured or emotionally destroyed. There is so much pain and nightmares that we will have a long trail of misery which will not easily go away.. And tomorrow we will almost all be ashamed of these dark and awful days.

We must take a bold step and pull our troops out …things are not getting any better and there are no more corners to turn…Many Iraqi professionals have CUT AND RUN for their lives to other countries and more are leaving every day. .They are CUTTING AND RUNNING…and so will all of our puppets who stand tall as long as our money and soldiers prop them up. But once our support and big paychecks are gone they will also CUT AND RUN…RUN FASTER THAN THE WIND…

Death rides many horses and comes from all directions….the American Dream has become a nightmare for all who have seen our democracy pushed on top of them in the shape of bombs, bullets, rape, and way too many lies…

We must take a bold step and leave…There is no other solution…Every day we create more enemies for our country and hatred towards our flag. The hatred towards Americans is growing and this puts us all in danger..

 

We must take a bold step and leave.

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THE WORLD CUP SOCCER MATCH….Italy the winner

It was a great game. …between France and Italy …all the teams from Latin America, Asia and Africa were gone…and it was two European teams battling for the grand title…

For a minute I thought that an African team had made the finals. France has so many people of Color, most with immigrant histories that it was hard to not think this was a third world team.. I celebrate the immigrant players on the French team and I celebrate this world wide sport that has captured the hearts and minds of so many around the world.

Paraguayan Surprise

Last Friday I was graced by the visit of a former Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Burr. I enjoy being visited by old friends like Deborah.. (she is in reality young, beautiful and very smart)…She was a volunteer in Caazapa, in the town of Tava’i  in the community of Yvtvy Cora…a wonderful spot in Paraguay…It was great to see her smile and catch up on all that she is doing…and to hear about other former volunteers and their new lives.

Peace Corps Volunteers are some of the best faces of America that people see and love in countries all over the world.  They in fact are our real ambassadors of Peace and Understanding.

LOOKING TO MY PLANTS

Sunday was a busy day, church, the world cup, lunch with a friend, a nap and time with my small garden.  It was a wonderful warm afternoon. I moved some squash and bell pepper plants out of pots and into the ground. Then I gave all the wonderful plants including some flowers plenty of water.

This time with my plants was very calming but then I begin to think about all those who could not tend to a garden because of war, lack of water or lack of land. I thought about others who can’t have a garden and I felt privileged to have my mini garden and my moment of peace.

My best

leno