Dohiyi Mir

Relationships

As I'd twittered yesterday, I missed a call on my cell from Rep Welch (D-VT-AL).  The phone was on vibrate and I was in the kitchen cleaning.  Yes, cleaning.  Stop laughing.

Anyhoo, Peter left a friendly message, noted his eye-opening trip to Gaza, mentioned that he appreciated my work, and said we should get together in Vermont during the August recess...er, "district work period."  He also noted that a few Members of Congress joined him in requesting PM Netanyahu open up the borders to Gaza, which was one of the things I've been bugging him about.

I've been fairly persistent in building a relationship with the Congressman and his office for about 2 years, particular his scheduler, Jake, and Legislative Assistant, Cal, and it's nice to see that it continues to pay off.  Lobbyists pay for access with money.  We constituents can pay for access, too: with dedication.

Peter did Code Pink a nice favor when we were in the Negev Desert.  Our delegation had been officially denied entrance to Gaza by the Ministry of Defence (well, their Gaza Liaison Office or somesuch), so I called Ericka from Israel and had her contact Cal, asking for help--I did as well.  The next day our Congressman contacted the US Embassy in Tel Aviv and requested that the folks in charge of aid to Gaza to do whatever they could to facilitate our humanitarian work.

We still didn't get in, but access is valuable in pushing our agenda forward even if it doesn't always achieve immediate results.  Lobbyists don't give up and neither should we.

One other thing I've been on Peter about is Afghanistan.  I'd written him about the Supplemental, which he'd originally voted against and was reportedly on the fence about the second go around.  Of course I wanted him to cast a Nay vote again, and Ericka had encouraged Green Mountain Code Pinkers to push him as well.

After our baby doc appointment this evening, I checked our mailbox and found this letter:

I voted against [HR2346, the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009] which passed the House on June 16, 2009, 226 to 202.

My vote reflects my skepticism about the government of Afghani President Hamid Karzai...[Corruption] is a threat to the security of Afghanistan that [can't be addressed] by our American military.

I also believe America should be wary of embracing an escalating policy of nation building.  I question whether nation building is a proper role of our military or a reasonable burden to impose on American taxpayers and whether it is an appropriate strategy to enhance our national security.

Now this was one of the usual form letters, 'cept Peter had crossed out "Mr Pritsky" and written "Todd" (with handwriting that's almost as scary as mine), and:

I admit that I'm pleased as punch to get a personalized message, and to have another meeting with my Representative.  I'm also incredibly grateful that Peter ended up going to Gaza, which was a focus of the meeting Ericka and I had with Cal back in May--we really pushed to have him go and see what was happening for himself.

We'll certainly have a lot to catch up on.

ntodd

Memories Of The Holy Land

I of course don't have any pictures of me in Palestine and Israel.  Fortunately, my buddy Jose sent me a few he took.

Political clowning workshop in Gan Meir, Tel Aviv.

Wearing Zool's hat, tying a balloon to the fence at Karem Shalom crossing.

Jose also left a link on my FB Wall to some video I missed of the protest in Bil'in we joined.  I'm the scruffy one in a light pink shirt (LOL) and black baseball cap whom you see fleetingly during the march, and fleeing tear gas at the fence while Tighe stands his ground with the bullhorn.  And our friends over there deal with that shit every goddamned Friday...

ntodd

It's Official

Mondays from 6-7pm Eastern on 105.9FM in the Greater Burlington Megalopolis Area: This Is Not A Call To Action.

Peace and justice activism with absolutely no explicit calls to action, plus all the implicit irony you can imagine.

Since this is community radio, FCC rules do not permit calls to action.  That should prove to be interesting for a show about political action.  I look at this as a channel for information and once educated, listeners will be able to decide for themselves how to act.  And that they should.

ntodd

Tuesday Graceyblogging

She loves her morning sun.

ntodd

Showing

People have been asking if Ericka's showing yet.  Yeah, for a long time in fact, though I've only just posted evidence...

ntodd

Intervention (Separation)

In which NTodd examines the nature of true friendship with Israel.  (20:19) 

Features: Jane's Addiction, Pearl Jam, The Beatles, Johnny Mandel, Eric Clapton

Subscribe, vote and DONATE!  And don't forget PINK Talk on Sundays from 5-6pm Eastern and PaxLive on Fridays from 3-4pm Eastern!

ntodd

Sunday Assmussen

The only poll worth paying attention to™:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 33% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-five percent (35%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -2. This is the third straight day the Approval Index has been below zero.

Well, I'd said I was letting assmussen.com expire, but apparently I was so frazzled leading up to my trip I did NOT actually turn off the auto renew, so still own the domain.  Eh, might as well keep this going through the 2010 midterms...

ntodd

New Channels

Just was on Poli-Sci-Fi Radio, chatting with my friend Bill about the Middle East, nonviolent resistance, etc.  The show is broadcast by The Radiator (WOMM-LP), Burlington's 100 watt radio station on 105.9 FM.

I'll be going to an orientation session tomorrow over at the station so as I might get back on the airwaves again.  Not only do I podcast and run a couple online "radio" shows, I also used to be a DJ back at Colby, and I'm looking forward to opening up a new channel for education, outreach and self-expression.

Deets to come later...

ntodd

Saturday's Fridaycatblogging

Taran looks for more kibble in the dining room.

Vinnie had a busy night outside in the rain.

Gracey is annoyed that I might join her in my chair.

ntodd

The Nakba (Separation)

In which NTodd celebrates independence and mourns freedom.  (16:18) 

Features: Ernest Gold.  Bonus links: Mahmoud Darwish, Time To Remember (Al Ghabisiyya), We Still Have The Keys (El Ghabsiya).  Note: I hate transliterations.

Subscribe, vote and DONATE!  And don't forget PINK Talk on Sundays from 5-6pm Eastern and PaxLive on Fridays from 3-4pm Eastern!

ntodd

Friday In Bil'in: 228

This week's message from our friend Iyad in Bil'in:

Three injured and dozens suffered from gas inhalation when Israeli troops attacked the weekly protest in Bil'in village near the central West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday.

International and Israeli supporters joined the villagers of Bil'in and marched from the village center after the Friday midday prayers. The protesters demanded the halt of Israeli illegal settlements and construction of the wall.

They also called for more resistance to the construction of the wall and settlements in light of the new Israeli plans to take over more Palestinian land near the dead sea and Jordan valley.
The villagers asked human right groups to intervene in the case of those kidnapped by the army from the village. The army attacked Bil'in this week and last week and kidnapped a dozen civilian among them five children.

As the protesters arrived at the wall, Israeli troops stationed at its gate fired a barrage of sound bombs, tear gas and rubber-coated bullets. Three protesters, Adeeb Abu Rahmah, Judi from UK and Julia from Germany, were lightly wounded and dozens were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.

This week the Israeli military attacked the village on a number of occasions and kidnapped six people among them two children.

In other news this week the Israeli High Court of Justice ordered the Israeli military on Wednesday to press stronger charges against an officer that shot a handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian civilian from Bil'in. The court decision came based on a petition by Israeli human rights organizations on behalf of the victim Ashraf Abu Rahmeh, 27.

Same repression, different day...

ntodd

I Can't Make Out Whether You're Bloody Bad-mannered Or Just Half-witted

Inhofe calls Franken a clown, his own fellow Minnesotan apparently thinks he doesn't know anything.  Puzzling that--Franken's clear smarts and wonkishness aside--these are considered bad things since satire and clowning can be very good ways to interrupt status quo thinking and effect change. 

We can't all be lion tamers...

ntodd

Vermont Deploys Again

Back to Afghanistan, folks.

ntodd

This Week In Utero: 24

It's funny to read these things because they are perfectly describing what we're experiencing.  So text book, it's scary:

Your baby isn't just sitting around (on your bladder) doing nothing, he's working hard preparing for life outside the womb—perfecting his lungs and packing on the pounds. He'll gain ½ pound this week alone. Other highlights this week:

Things are starting to get a little crowded inside the old womb as baby grows bigger and bigger. Your ribs are probably pining away for the good old days when they didn't have a foot permanently lodged between them. Hate to break it to you, but it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Your baby's ears are fully functional now. And since they are, you may notice that loud noises and sudden movements can startle the little bugger. He's getting used to the everyday sounds inside the womb: the sound of your heart beating, your lungs inhaling and exhaling air, the growling of your stomach because your partner promised he'd be right back with that double cheeseburger and he's taking forever! He'll even be able to hear your voice when your partner finally arrives and you ask him where the bleep he's been! So talk nice!

Baby's got a fully developed inner ear now. This means his sense of balance is working and he can tell whether he's hanging upside down or right side up. He can also feel you moving, so go ahead, pop in your favorite tunes and boogie.

Your little Wiener schnitzel is about the length of a foot-long Chicago hot dog and weighs about 1 1/3 pounds.

Given that I'm fasting on Fridays in solidarity with Bil'in, I really would like the food comparisons to stop.

ntodd

Independence (Separation)

In which NTodd looks at creation and destruction.  (18:46) 

Features: Jefferson Airplane, Doors, Rolling Stones, TS Eliot, Mahmoud Darwish. 

Subscribe, vote and DONATE!  And don't forget PINK Talk on Sundays from 5-6pm Eastern and PaxLive on Fridays from 3-4pm Eastern!

ntodd

Thursday Packblogging

SamuelT's Ma looks on as the canines behave surprisingly well for an impromptu portrait--for some reason all three decided to join her on the couch of their own volition.

Ericka introduces Sam to the Dogz over at And Baby Makes 11...

ntodd

Happy Independence Day!

The Lee Resolution, which Congress adopted on July 2, 1776:

Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.

That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances.

That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration and approbation.

John Adams wrote:

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

Proving that the Framers were not entirely prescient.  They might have even recognized that, hence bequeathing us an adaptable, evolving system that is not beholden to all their original notions of right and wrong, justice, liberty...

ntodd

Another Brick In The Wall (Separation)

In which NTodd gets back in the groove after a little jaunt to the Middle East.  (40:03) 

Features: Michael and Janet Jackson, Disturbed, Rage Against The Machine, Pink Floyd, U2, Bob Marley, Artists Against Apartheid. 

Subscribe, vote and DONATE!  And don't forget PINK Talk on Sundays from 5-6pm Eastern and PaxLive on Fridays from 3-4pm Eastern!

ntodd

Wednesday Catblogging

Pearl was playing with Taran for a while around the backdoor, then retreated when he started spazzing too much.

See what I mean?

Lola got caught in a t-storm last night, and Taran ministered to his dirty brother once he finally came in.

Oh, you know me and blurry shots.

Content.

Returning the favor.

ntodd

The World Was Created For My Sake, Hence I Must Be Upright And Just

Just before I left for the Middle East, we went on a 251 Club trip to Isle La Motte.  I was struck by this sign marking Vermont's "oldest settlement" and the celebratory flag that we now see in Burlington as well proclaiming this to be the 400th year since Samuel de Champlain's arrival to the area.

While perhaps not quite so explicit, and certainly not so recent, as "a land without a people for a people without a land," the United States certainly has its own dark history when it comes to seizing territory and shamefully treating the people who already lived there.  Such a comparison between our past and what's happening in Palestine and Israel came up quite a bit in discussions with our peace activist friends. 

The walls we built were mostly wooden and instead of ghettoes we created reservations.  Our forebears felt justified in taking land because it wasn't being used properly.  They felt justified in brutally repressing the natives because of their "terrorism".  We pretend the indigenous populations are sovereign, but our government decides what their status is.  This certainly makes it harder for us to judge Israelis and their policies so harshly when we don't quite occupy the moral high ground we imagine.

The First Peoples aren't totally invisible here, though.  Names of rivers, roads and towns use their words.  We have Pow Wows and other festivities that showcase their culture.  But we still have overlaid our world upon theirs.

Tel Aviv is celebrating a milestone this year as well: the city is marking its centennial with arts festivals, concerts, etc.  It began as a neighborhood in Jaffa and didn't actually get its name until the following year:

Minutes of a meeting of the Ahuzat Bayit Committee, early 1910:
Dr.Hayyim Hisin: “I suggest that we call our new neighborhood Herzliya, in memory of Herzl”
Abraham Gerson Hanoh: “But there is a chance that we will incur the wrath of the (Ottoman) authorities by naming it after Herzl”
Arieh Akiva Weiss: “This is true. We have to find a name that the goverment will agree to. And let us not forget that we are only building a small neighborhood (sec:!!!), a part of the big city of Jaffa. I suggest the name New Jaffa.”
Menahem Sheinkin: “I suggest the name Tel Aviv, which is the Hebrew name of Herzl’s book ‘Altneuland’, as it was translated by Nahum Sokolow. This is the name by which Herzl wished to express the hope for our future in the Land of Israel. In addition, Tel Aviv has a local, Arab sound and so the local population will be able to get used to it quickly”

On May 21, 1910 the committee accepted Menachem Sheinkin’s proposal to name the new neighborhood Tel Aviv.

The neighborhood of Spring Hill grew out of Old Jaffa and eventually through all-too-familiar tactics, took over the city:

Tel Aviv is Israel’s first and most important example of the apartheid-style colonialism which is central to Zionism. As historian Tom Segev wrote, “Segregation led to the establishment of Tel Aviv… by Jews tired of living among Arabs. Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion wrote that “The destruction of Jaffa, the city and the port, will happen and it will be for the best… When Jaffa falls into hell I will not be among the mourners.”

Driving Jaffa “into hell” was required in order to assure Tel Aviv’s dominance. As a result Jaffa, whose orange groves, factories and literary institutions made it the center of Palestinian life, had to be destroyed and its residents driven out. In 1948 Zionist military forces displaced 95% of Jaffa's Palestinians. Historian Ilan Pappe writes that the people of Jaffa were “literally pushed into the sea” to board fishing boats destined for exile as “Jewish troops shot over their heads to hasten their expulsion.” Soon after Zionist forces blew up and bulldozed three-quarters of Jaffa's Arab section.

Out of the 70,000 Palestinians who used to call Jaffa home, only 3,650 were allowed to stay. Many of Jaffa’s Palestinian residents fled to Gaza – which means the families of many of those killed and wounded in this year’s massacres by the Israeli Occupation Forces, as well as those suffering right now from Israel’s genocidal siege, came from Jaffa.

Their homes and property confiscated, the few remaining after 1948 were pushed into a ghetto surrounded by barbed wire patrolled by Israeli soldiers and guard dogs. In 1950 Jaffa was swallowed up by the Tel Aviv municipality. Some of the Palestinian workers remaining were forced to build the luxury hotels and condos that line Tel Aviv's beaches, but could be imprisoned if they were found in Tel Aviv after 6 p.m.

The ghetto into which the remaining Palestinians were pushed, while by far the poorest neighborhood in the city, is also a coastal neighborhood with some of the highest property value in the city. As a result 3,000 Palestinians face eviction right now so their homes can be torn down to provide exclusive housing for Jews so they can have easier access to the real Tel Aviv beach.

Exodus 14:1-3: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp...by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

The Palestinians of Jaffa were pushed into the sea, and hundreds of thousands all over the land began their forced exodus.  Truly a catastrophe of Biblical proportions and worthy of remembrance.

Today, the government of Israel still attempts to remove all vestiges of the Palestinians who used to live on those lands.  They build concrete walls and restricted roads, they destroy villages, they make life so intolerable that Palestinians will leave of their own accord.  They travel through an invisible country.

Yuri Olesha, one of my favorite Soviet authors, wrote in The Cherry Seed:

The sun is setting. I'm heading east. I am traveling a double path. One path is accessible to the observation of everyone. A passerby sees a man walking along an empty, overgrown area. But what's going on with this peacefully walking man? He sees his shadow in front of himself. The shadow moves along the ground, extending into the distance. It has long, colorless legs. I traverse the vacant lot. The shadow rises along a brick wall and suddenly loses its head. The passerby doesn't see this. Only I see it. I step into a corridor between two buildings. The corridor is endlessly high, filled with shade. Here the soil is claylike, pliable, like in a garden. Toward me, along the wall, moving to the side, runs a stray dog. We pass. I look behind. The threshold behind is shining. There on the threshold, a solar flare momentarily covers over the dog. Then it runs off into the emptiness, and only now can I see its color--reddish.

All this happens in the invisible country, because in the country accessible to normal vision, something else is going on: a traveler meets a dog, the sun sets, the vacant lot turns green.

The invisible land is a land of attention and imagination. The traveler is not alone! Two sisters walk at his sides and lead the traveler by the hand. One sister is called Attention, the other, Imagination.

So what does this mean? Does it mean that, in defiance of everyone, in defiance of order and society, I create a world which submits to no laws save the shadowy laws of my own feelings? What does this mean? There are two worlds, the old and the new. And what world is this? A third world? There are two paths; but what is this third path?
...
[C]lear and bright is the day. The wind is blowning, making the light of day burn more brightly. The wind is rocking my tree, and it creaks with its lacquered limbs. Each of its blossoms rises and lies down again, rendering it now pink, now white. This is a kaleidoscope of spring...Five years ago you treated me to some olives, remember? Unrequited love makes the memory poorer and more clear. To this day I remember...I planted a tree in memory of the fact that you didn't love me.
...
In five years, on this spot--where there is now a vacant lot, ditches, usless walls--a concrete giant will rise up. My sister Imagination is an impulsive person. In the spring, they'll start laying the foundation...Yet, there in the invisible country, someday, the tree dedicated to you will bloom.

Tourists will come to the concrete giant.

They will not see your tree. Is it really impossible to make the invisible country visible?

This letter is imaginary. I didn't write it. I could have written it if Abel hadn't said what he said.

"The building will be laid out in a semicircle," said Abel. "The exterior of the semicircle will be filled in with a garden. Do you have imagination?"

"I have imagination," I said. "I see it, Abel. I see it clearly. There will be a garden here. And on that spot where we are standing will grow an olive tree."

Yes, I edited it a bit.  Take out 'cherry' and replace with 'olive' and it represents the same thing in a different context: if you will it (the transfer of the Palestinians), it is no dream.  They will be invisible, not even a memory, and we can imagine the land of milk and honey with no messy reality of another people living here, no cognitive dissonance, no myths to struggle to maintain.  Nevermind that we had to uproot their trees, shatter their lives, kill their children.

Surah 5 (The Feast): We decreed for the Children of Israel that whosoever killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind.

That sounds uncannily like something in the Talmud.  I think Sisters Attention and Imagination would agree that the two sides have more in common than they admit and should they recognize that shared humanity, olive trees may yet bloom in the Holy Land.  If you will it, it is no dream...

ntodd

Reluctor Ergo Sum

One of my favorite shots from the Wall.

Flore Chapon: Our French journo friend shot this at the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Flore Chapon: if anybody doubts how our actions build bridges and score for humanity.

Flore Chapon: yes, these stonethrowers are clearly an existential threat to Israel.

Flore Chapon: looks like one of the IDF soldiers forgot to pull the pin on his teargas cannister in Bil'in.

Flore Chapon: methinks this is hyperbole.

Flore Chapon: they put Palestinian flags in their olive trees, the trees they own and try to harvest, which is all they are struggling for.  Livelihoods, lives for their children...is that really different from what Israelis want?

ntodd

Warum Bin Ich Ich Und Warum Nicht Du?

Song of My Son.

ntodd