Magdaleno

Dear Friends

I wanted to give you another gentle push to register your friends and families to vote. We will need every vote this fall….get everyone you know and care about to register…we have a chance to make some major changes but we need your help…

NOW FOR MY VIEW OF THE NEWS

1. Katrina
2. Bush and Saddam

c.   Women lead and we can follow

      d.   The Royal Chicano Air force

       e.  Barrios Unidos

       f.   Need soldiers

       g.  Labor Day March and Rally

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Katrina…

 

One year later and still many of the promises made by the federal government have not come to fruition.. It is interesting how easy Bush found it to work with a Republican governor in Mississippi, then to work with a Governor from the Democratic Party in Louisiana..

We should not let the Bush and his FEMA staff get off the hook on this issue. They failed then and continue to fail…And this is hurting families…

Yesterday as I listened to Air America I heard an interview of my old friend Makil Rahim….he is a resident of New Orleans and a strong voice for human rights and decency…it was good to hear a community activist talk about what they are doing to work with the community. We have to find ways to support these community groups do their work and organizing efforts..Google Makil and find out more about his works and his words..

Lots of people made a lot of money off of the misery of the storm and no one will ever investigate what special deals were made for special friends of the Bush administration.

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Bush and Saddam

Today Bush and company are trying to tell us that they never blamed Iraq with the 9-11 attacks. I guess that the media will have to play back their audio and video clips for them. They should not be allowed to CUT AND RUN from their allegations.

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WOMEN TAKE THE LEAD

Last week I was in a most interesting meeting …there we were local organizations in a room with a working committee of local and national voices facilitating a discussion of how we might all work together …The conveners had diversity and they were all women… Years ago the conveners of such a meeting would have been men with out much diversity …And the atmosphere and discussion would have been much different had men been leading this discussion….

It was good to see such a great change in our movement for human rights…I was impressed by the wisdom and hearts of these women who led us in a most difficult but necessary discussion…It is good to watch others work and teach…

When my daughter Aviva was 8 years old she proclaimed WOMEN ARE SMARTER THAN MEN…perhaps she was right….

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The Royal Chicano Air force (RCA)

During the Chicano Movement a wonderful group of Artists formed the Royal Chicano Air Force in California which produced wonderful revolutionary posters and murals which inspired millions.  Jose Montoya of Sacramento was the key General and organizer of this movement.

This last weekend I met an artist Daniel DeSiga at a fundraiser in Yakima for Radio station KDNA. I had admired Daniel’s work for years and finally got to meet him. He had been a one star general of the RCA and bragged about getting his wings in Sacramento. You never know whom you are going to meet at a fundraiser in rural America.

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BARRIOS UNIDOS GOES TO VENEZUELA

 

Nane Alejandrez Director of Barrios Unidos is leading a cultural exchange delegation to Venezuela.  This is exciting for all involved. In October a delegation from Venezuela will visit Barrios Unidos in Santa Cruz…Both communities will learn and grow together.

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Desperate Need for Soldiers.

I have been trying to get in shape …I am going to the gym a couple of times a week in preparation for the day when we might all be called up to serve my country…the military is getting desperate and is extending the tours for many soldiers and expanding the age and conditions for acceptance into the service. If they get to recruiting old Chicanos like me then we know that all is lost….

For those of you who care about me ….work to end this war.

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Labor Day Event…………. September 4^th

 

SOLIDARITY

March for Human Rights and Economic Justice

Gather at 4pm at Judkins Park

2150 S. Norman St crosses with 23^rd Ave S.

March begins promptly at 5pm and heads towards MLK Memorial

Rally will be at

                        Martin Luther King Memorial Park

                        2200 Martin Luther King Jr. way

 

This Day of Solidarity is a Beginning, Not an End….

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GIVE UP SOME MONEY

 

All of us have a couple of dollars that we can give to an organization that is helping others in our community. If we all gave a little we could begin to change the world around us. All the organizations that do good work need our help….so dig deep and give a few dollars for others…

My best

leno

Dear Sisters and Brothers

 

Take time to mentor some one. I want to encourage those of you with experience and history to take a moment and look around for someone that you might mentor. ..share with them your experience, your wisdom, you love of life… And watch them grow and flourish. We must give of ourselves to others so that they might have a better chance at this game called life. By mentoring you too will learn and grow. And this is all good.

 

NOW FOR MY VIEW OF THE NEWS

1. puro pedo ..methane menace
2. the power of bombs

c.   peace movement in Seattle

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PURO PEDO..(pure passed gas)

          A new methane menace

I want to warn you of the possibility of a new threat that could be soon striking our airlines and you should be prepared. This methane menace can be called PURO PEDO…

But let me first address this current hysteria about liquid bombs on the airlines..It turns out that every one at high level security in many countries knew that you could put together liquid bombs.SO THIS IS NOT A RECENT DISCOVERY…. So why didn’t they then banish all this liquid products prior to this group being caught in England.…in effect we only take security steps when we catch some one doing what we already KNEW could be done. So now these fluids are in our baggage and some one could easily design a plan for the fluids to explode in our bags also bringing down the plane…
We are re-acting instead of acting and this is dangerous.

We must be careful of accepting all the accusations brought by the British Government against some supposed terrorists. It might turn out just like the Miami so called plot where it was people talking about something instead of really doing anything that was a real threat. We will have to wait and see what is dug up about this event..was it a real threat or just political publicity misdirection.

This unusual step to throw away fluids is a cosmetic media ploy to get us to think that they are doing something about terrorism…when they are not able to respond to the real threats…they are unable to respond because we are bogged down in Iraq and all our resources are being spent there.

NOW for Puro Pedo. …here is another far fetched tongue in cheek threat… It is believed that there is a refried bean, chili eating cult that plans to interrupt flights with a new strategy. This involves the digesting of refried beans and jalapenos 8 hours before flight time. It would require at least150-200 participants per flight in order for this action to be effective.. Once on the plane they would all begin releasing Methane gas (pedos) which have  a strong odder and could cause some to vomit…a spark from almost anything could cause the passed gas to combust.  At a minimal that particular airliner will be placed out of service for months while it is aired out and deodorized.

It proposed that those with European backgrounds might be best carriers given that their bodies are not yet trained to process these foods properly. Airport security should be on the watch out for large groups of white travelers with extended stomachs.

Should they make it on board everyone’s health could be in danger. SO BEWARE

The Power of Bombs

In the media there had been a constant count and reporting of Hezbollah rockets.
Each shell or bomb has a TNT equivalent. So can some one tell me the TNT equivalent of all the Hezbollah Rockets?

Then give me the TNT equivalent of all the tank shells, ground fired shells and airplane bombs sent by the Israeli military…. I would like to know …And I would like to have this reported just so we get a balanced picture of the fire power used by each group….

For several days last weeks as I watched CNN news they continued to show the number of Hezbollah rockets scroll by at the bottom of the screen but they never ran what the Israeli’s had dropped. Even NPR and my local newspaper fell into this Hezbollah rocket reporting.

I want fair and equal reporting……Is this too much to ask for?

And by the way how many on each side were killed, and how much physical damage was done in each country…

In the end all lives are precious….. we should value as much the lives of others as we value our own.

PEACE MOVEMENT I N SEATTLE

This past week there was a conference of Veterans for Peace at the University of Washington. Veterans from across the country gathered to seek peace. Amongst the many voices were the Vietnam Vets and the Iraqi Vets.  I was able to host two
Vietnam Vets, Robert Merrill and Richard Henderson both who believe that we all need to be a voice for peace.

On Saturday I went to two peace demonstrations…at the demonstration in Kirkland I heard a friend Shalumit Decktor speak as a Jewish voice for peace .. I was proud of her and her continued work for peace and justice..

Then later I went to the Federal Building and got there as a man Malik Rahim from New Orleans …There he stood in dread locks was talking about  peace and the continuing problems for the poor in New Orleans. After his good and strong talk he sat down and I came up behind him and whispered in his ear I DID NOT LIKE YOUR TALK…he quickly rose and turned to see who belonged to this voice of opposition..…

Once he saw me he smiled…Magdaleno he exclaimed and hugged me. I had met him 20 years ago when he as a young black man was working with Sister Helen Prejean in New Orleans on the issue of the death penalty. After we hugged, kissed and exchanged contact info..Malik reminded me of a time many years ago when I helped him and some others with some food and money…..It wasn’t much but he has never forgotten…nor have I forgotten that he is a strong voice for justice for many years.

It is good to listen to others teach and preach… If you listen close enough to others you just might learn something

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IT IS STILL SUMMER

 

The sun is still out for a few more hours each day and I want to encourage you all to take some mental health moments and spend time in the sun..go swimming, walking, gardening, sunbathing or maybe just standing out there in the sun. (With sun screen)

We like the ancients most worship the sun, the moon and the rain.  We must re-connect with Mother Nature…

Working on my tan

Love

leno

Dear Friends

 

COLORS NW has done an interview of me and some of my past…Below are the links so that you can read the story.

 

I am embarrassed by anything written about me.. but if my stories help some one or our cause then it is worth it… There are so many worthy individuals that need to recognized that  I wish we could do stories about all of them..

http://www.colorsnw.com/leno.html

click on the things that say interview 1 or 2 or 3

 

 

NOW FOR MY VIEW OF THE NEWS

1. you didn’t bring me flowers
2. shooting in seattle
3. Joe Lieberman lost more than a primary
4. the prime minister of Isreal
5. Hizbuallahs attacks and why
6. peace movement in Israel.
7. Aviva’s bday

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YOU DIDN’T BRING FLOWERS

We were told that the Iraqi people would dance out into the streets and shower us with flowers…hugging one and all just as we has seen in some world warII movies.  The only celebrations were publicity stunts such as the toppling of Saddam’s statue …we got some of Ahmed Chalibis thugs into the photo. Chalabi was our great source for            WMDs and much other false information about Iraq. While many were glad to see Saddam go not many did not want the USA ARMY to be there.

Since we got there no one has given us flowers nor have you yet to see a demonstration of any kind celebrating our occupation. No one is building statues of George Bush nor are they building monuments to our soldiers. Each time that George has gone to Iraq people have not run out into the streets to praise and thank him

Our entry and occupation has been a water fall of mistakes…never ending ….with more bodies on the streets every day.

There is a civil war …the administration calls it sectarian violence…a phrase they avoided for months…but it is so obvious that even a fool would sit that the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s are at war… And we aren’t helping it a bit…

Instead …recently there was a demonstration in support of Hezbollah in Iraq…….…200,000 plus poured out onto the streets…they chanted…NO TO ISREAL, NO TO THE USA AND NO TO GEORGE BUSH AND YES TO HEZBOLLAH.….this is the most obvious sign that we have failed…If we were so successful in all that we have done then you would have a million man march in support of Bush…notice…no Iraqi government official questioned or condemned the march…

At the same time I don’t believe that we should cut and run in broad daylight… Instead…we need to leave in the middle of the night ..Carefully walking backwards and protecting our soldier’s flanks as we leave…and we need to do it tonight…

The next big celebration will be when our soldiers and our private rip off contractors are gone….

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The Shooting in Seattle

            Jewish Federation

I was able to join Ministers and people of many faiths in an Ecumenical Service at Westlake Park in Seattle to mourn the loss of  a life, the injury to many and to speak about peace and sanity.

There were many strong voice and words but most important were the individuals who came to give witness and their love…I was especially moved by the Seattle Peace Choir that sang songs in English and in Hebrew and even I ventured into a new frontier and sang out in public…

CORRECTION…in my earlier story I had erroneously said that one woman shot was 17 months pregnant …several readers caught this and thought that this was an incredible event for a  woman to be pregnant for 17 months during a hot summer. She in fact is  only  7 months pregnant and all indications are that she and her baby will be well..And we all should be ready to welcome this child into our world and our lives.

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Conn. Race Could Be Democratic Watershed
Loss by Lieberman May Embolden Critics of War

And motivate folks to vote…

Joe Lieberman last night lost to Ted Lamont. Now he says he wants to run as an independent…thus playing into the hands of the Republicans… Now the test for the party is if those elected officials who came and campaigned for Lieberman is if they will come and campaign for Lamont. We must pressure all to support the victor…and that is LAMONT.

 

EDITORS NOTE…in my blog I like to include some opinions that are not mercenarily mine..but news that you should know about or read about…I have gotten a lot of emails on all sides of the issue in the Middle East and Iraq. That means that you are reading… and that is good…. I hope that I can provoke you some more.

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Speech of Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of the State of Israel,
published in Maariv on Monday, July 31, 2006.

Ladies and gentlemen, leaders of the world, I, the Prime Minister of Israel, am speaking to you from Jerusalem in the face of the terrible pictures from Kfar Kana.  Any human heart, wherever it is, must sicken and recoil at the sight of such pictures.  There are no words of comfort that can mitigate the enormity of this tragedy.  Still, I am looking you straight in the eye and telling you that the State of Israel will continue its military campaign in Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces will continue to attack targets from which missiles and Katyusha rockets are fired at hospitals, old age homes and kindergartens in Israel.  I have instructed the security forces and the IDF to continue to hunt for the Katyusha stockpiles and launch sites from which these savages are bombarding the State of Israel.  We will not hesitate, we will not apologize and we will not back off.  If they continue to launch missiles into Israel from Kfar Kana, we will continue to bomb Kfar Kana.  Today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.  Here, there and everywhere.

The children of Kfar Kana could now be sleeping peacefully in their homes, unmolested, had the agents of the devil not taken over their land and turned the lives of our children into hell.  Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time you understood: the Jewish state will no longer be trampled upon.  We will no longer allow anyone to exploit population centers in order to bomb our citizens.  No one will be able to hide anymore behind women and children in order to kill our women and children.  This anarchy is over.  You can condemn us, you can boycott us, you can stop visiting us and, if necessary, we will stop visiting you.

Today I am serving as the voice of six million bombarded Israeli citizens who serve as the voice of six million murdered Jews who were melted down to dust and ashes by savages in Europe.  In both cases, those responsible for these evil acts were, and are, barbarians devoid of all humanity, who set themselves one simple goal: to wipe the Jewish people off the face of the earth, as Adolph Hitler said, or to wipe the State of Israel off the map, as Mahmoud Ahmedinjad proclaims.

And you – just as you did not take those words seriously then, you are ignoring them again now. And that, ladies and gentlemen, leaders of the world, will not happen again.  Never again will we wait for bombs that never came to hit the gas chambers.  Never again will we wait for salvation that never arrives.  Now we have our own air force.  The Jewish people are now capable of standing up to those who seek their destruction – those people will no longer be able to hide behind women and children.  They will no longer be able to evade their responsibility.  Every place from which a Katyusha is fired into the State of Israel will be a legitimate target for us to attack.  This must be stated clearly and publicly, once and for all.  You are welcome to judge us, to ostracize us, to boycott us and to vilify us.  But to kill us?  Absolutely not.

Four months ago I was elected by hundreds of thousands of citizens to the office of Prime Minister of the government of Israel, on the basis of my plan for unilaterally withdrawing from 90 percent of the areas of Judea and Samaria, the birth place and cradle of the Jewish people; to end most of the occupation and to enable the Palestinian people to turn over a new leaf and to calm things down until conditions are ripe for attaining a permanent settlement between us.  The Prime Minister who preceded me, Ariel Sharon, made a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip back to the international border, and gave the Palestinians there a chance to build a new reality for themselves.  The Prime Minister who preceded him, Ehud Barak, ended the lengthy Israeli presence in Lebanon and pulled the IDF back to the international border, leaving the land of the cedars to flourish, develop and establish its democracy and its economy.

What did the State of Israel get in exchange for all of this?  Did we win even one minute of quiet? Was our hand, outstretched in peace, met with a handshake of encouragement?  Ehud Barak’s peace initiative at Camp David let loose on us a wave of suicide bombers who smashed and blew to pieces over 1,000 citizens, men, women and children.  I don’t remember you being so enraged then.  Maybe that happened because we did not allow TV close-ups of the dismembered body parts of the Israeli youngsters at the Dolphinarium?  Or of the shattered lives of the people butchered while celebrating the Passover seder at the Park Hotel in Netanya?

What can you do – that’s the way we are.  We don’t wave body parts at the camera.  We grieve quietly.  We do not dance on the roofs at the sight of the bodies of our enemy’s children – we express genuine sorrow and regret.  That is the monstrous behavior of our enemies.  Now they have risen up against us.  Tomorrow they will rise up against you.  You are already familiar with the murderous taste of this terror.  And you will taste more.

And Ariel Sharon’s withdrawal from Gaza  — what did it get us?  A barrage of Kassem missiles fired at peaceful settlements and the kidnapping of soldiers.  Then too, I don’t recall you reacting with such alarm.  And for six years, the withdrawal from Lebanon has drawn the vituperation and crimes of a dangerous, extremist Iranian agent, who took over an entire country in the name of religious fanaticism, and is trying to take Israel hostage on his way to Jerusalem – and from there to Paris and London.  An enormous terrorist infrastructure has been established by Iran on our border, threatening our citizens, growing stronger before our very eyes, awaiting the moment when the land of the Ayatollahs becomes a nuclear power in order to bring us to our knees.  And make no mistake – we won’t go down alone.  You, the leaders of the free and enlightened world, will go down along with us.

So today, here and now, I am putting an end to this parade of hypocrisy.  I don’t recall such a wave of reaction in the face of the 100 citizens killed every single day in Iraq.  Sunnis kill Shiites who kill Sunnis, and all of them kill Americans – and the world remains silent.  And I am hard pressed to recall a similar reaction when the Russians destroyed entire villages and burned down large cities in order to repress the revolt in Chechnya.  And when NATO bombed Kosovo for almost three months and crushed the civilian population – then you also kept silent.

What is it about us, the Jews, the minority, the persecuted, that arouses this cosmic sense of justice in you? What do we have that all the others don’t?  In a loud clear voice, looking you straight in the eye, I stand before you openly and I will not apologize.  I will not capitulate.  I will not whine.  This is a battle for our freedom.  For our humanity.  For the right to lead normal lives within our recognized, legitimate borders.  It is also your battle.

I pray and I believe that now you will understand that.  Because if you don’t, you may regret it later, when it’s too late.

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There is a Peace Movement in Israel

According to Israeli daily Haaretz (the Hebrew
addition, no mention in the English addition), over
5000 people marched today Aug-5 against the war in
down town Tel Aviv.

Among the demonstrators was Yael Dayan the daughter of
late Moshe Dayan, who also spoke in the rally. She is
currently the vice mayor of Tel Aviv.
In the rally all the speakers called for an Immediate
cease fire, negotiations for prisoners exchange and
for Israel to pull out of Lebanon.

Please spread the word

Yossi
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Celebrate a Birthday

Today in Miami we are celebrating the 21^st birthday of my daughter Aviva.. She is a Senior at FIU…and still believes that WOMEN ARE SMARTER THAN MEN……… ( something she decided when she was 8 years old)…I am glad to be here to give her the love and recognition she deserves… Birthdays are special moments for families and friends…..

My best

leno