Sharyn Lock on Gaza flotilla killings (and Israeli hasbara)

As someone who was in Gaza during the 08/09 attacks, working with the ambulances, I saw first hand the contradictions to all the lies Israel told then.

It makes it impossible for me to trust their side of the story now, when they are preventing us not just from contacting our friends for their side of the story, but from even finding out if they are alive or dead.

I personally know my close friends on board the boats would take an Israeli bullet rather than resist violently in any way - and in the past, some of us have - Caoimhe Butterly for example.

But isn't the question we should be asking instead - why didn't the Navy just stay home and let the aid through, when the flotilla was going nowhere near them, as FreeGaza boats never had in the past?

From Sharyn Lock, founding member of the FreeGaza movement, nonviolence trainer, passenger on the first and fourth FreeGaza boat trips, and author of Gaza: Beneath the Bombs

Call for action from activist Caoimhe Butterly (Gaza TV News).

Call to action in response to Israeli killing of humanitarian activists on FreeGaza flotilla:

Gaza flotilla; Mahmoud Darwish & Trio Joubran

Below is a YouTube video of the wonderful Trio Joubran setting of Mahmoud Darwish reading 'Wait for her.' Lovely.



Today is a tense one for anyone caring about the fate of the flotilla of aid, human rights workers, journalists, parliamentarians and others trying to enter Gaza by sea again. The State of Israel has been threatening all sorts of hi-tech and savage ways to prevent them reaching Gaza, whilst making disingenuous statements about its 'inability' to control shipping in Gazan waters. Follow the flotilla's progress on http://twitter.com/freegazaorg or http://www.witnessgaza.com/

Greenpeace on the BP oil spill

Original here.

Local food event, June 12th

I'll be at a wedding somewhere terrifyingly countrified, but in Manchester on 12th of June this very worthwhile event will be happening:

“Create your own Abundance” open event
Saturday 12th June, 11am-1pm at Madlab,  36-40 Edge St, Northern Quarter, Manchester City Centre, M4 1HN
Abundance Manchester invites groups and individuals in Greater Manchester to find out how they can cut food waste, have fun, reduce food miles, get fit, help vulnerable people and strengthen their communities.....all at the same time. How? By coming to an open event designed to help them set up an 'Abundance' project in their area.
Abundance Manchester is a small voluntary group that harvests surplus and unwanted fruit and veg from gardens, allotments and public places and distributes it to places that need it, like homeless hostels and refugee projects. It has been running for 2 years in South Manchester, covering Chorlton, Didsbury, Withington, Fallowfield & Whalley Range. Jointly with several other Abundance projects in the country, it is one of 3 schemes shortlisted for the ‘Best Grassroots Project’ award at the Observer's Ethical Awards 2010.
“Abundance is a great project, but we can only cover a tiny fraction of Greater Manchester, and we want people in other areas to take advantage of the 'abundance' of fresh produce that's going to waste where they live” said Debbie Clarke of the group. “And we'd like to help get them started”.
On Saturday 12th June, Abundance Manchester is holding a short open event in Manchester city centre where people can find out just how easy it is to start and run their own Abundance project, or something like it. The group will provide tips and advice on getting started, plus the chance to connect interested people from the same areas.
Starts 11am with a short presentation, followed by discussion and one to one advice. Those interested are asked to book by Monday 7th June, as places are limited.
For more info (& to book) - email: abundancemanchester[at]yahoo.co.uk, phone: Nicola: 07515 116 730 or Debbie: 07967 227 981, website: http://abundancemanchester.wordpress.com/

And congratulations to Abundance, especially Nicola, on that Observer Ethical Awards shortlisting. Full details of the shortlist for this year's awards are here - we'll know if Abundance gets the top prize in June.

Oh for goodness' sake...

These are the opening paragraphs of a press release I received yesterday morning:

Abu Dhabi Launches World’s First Gold Vending Machine 17 May 10
Emirates Palace host to unique tourist attraction
The world’s first gold vending machine is now enticing tourists in Abu
Dhabi where the Gold to go™ has found a home in the uber-luxurious setting
of Emirates Palace – one of the world’s most opulent hotels.
Gold to go® dispenses ten specially-designed 24 carat gold bars in various
designs, such as the Kangaroo, Maple Leaf and Krugerrand in denominations
of one, five and ten grams, as well as one tenth, a quarter and one ounce
of gold.

Anyone got any theories on why our civilisation might actually deserve to survive?
Sigh.

Nick Clegg on Gaza

On Tuesday 22nd December last year - 2009 - Nick Clegg wrote on the Guardian's Comment is Free website that:

What is less well-known [than the December 2008/January 2009 invasion] is the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The legacy of Operation Cast Lead is a living nightmare for one and a half million Palestinians squeezed into one of the most overcrowded and wretched stretches of land on the planet. And as Israel and Egypt maintain a near total blockade against Gaza, the misery deepens by the day.
This is not only shocking in humanitarian terms. It is not in Israel's or Egypt's interest, either. Confining people in abject poverty in a tiny slice of territory is a recipe for continued bitterness, fury and radicalism.
And what has the British government and the international community done to lift the blockade? Next to nothing. Tough-sounding declarations are issued at regular intervals but little real pressure is applied. It is a scandal that the international community has sat on its hands in the face of this unfolding crisis.
No doubt the febrile sensitivities of the Middle East have deterred governments, caught between recriminations from both sides. No doubt diplomats have warned that exerting pressure on Israel and Egypt may complicate the peace process.
But surely the consequences of not lifting the blockade are far more grave? How is the peace process served by sickness, mortality rates, mental trauma and malnutrition increasing in Gaza? Is it not in Israel's enlightened self-interest to relieve the humanitarian suffering?
The peace process is in serious trouble right now. Internal Israeli politics limits any meaningful room for manoeuvre, illegal settlement activity in the West Bank continues, and leadership of the Palestinians is divided and incoherent. A two-state solution, long the accepted bedrock of any agreement, is being openly questioned
But paralysis in the peace process cannot be an excuse for the inhumane treatment of one and a half million people, the majority of them under 18 years old. No peaceful coexistence of any kind is possible as long as this act of collective confinement continues.
According to a recently leaked report by the UN office of the humanitarian co-ordinator, Gaza is undergoing "a process of de-development, which potentially could lead to the complete breakdown of public infrastructure". A report released today by a group of 16 humanitarian and human rights groups further spells out the effects.
Family homes destroyed in the invasion lie as shattered as ever. The embargo on construction materials means they will stay that way. Local hospitals and clinics were left devastated by the invasion, and those suffering health problems wait longer than ever to get out of Gaza for treatment. Many have died waiting. Bed-wetting and nightmares are endemic among children.
Half of those under 30 are unemployed. These young people are trapped in a broken land with little hope of economic opportunity. The blockade's restrictions on Gaza's fishermen mean they can sail only three nautical miles from the coast, impoverishing their families. Meanwhile, 80m litres of raw and partially treated sewage is pumped out into the sea every day.
Most disturbingly of all, the lack of access to materials means that basic water infrastructure simply cannot be repaired or improved; 90 to 95% of Gaza's water fails to meet WHO standards. The extremely high nitrate level in the water supply is leaving thousands of newborn babies at risk of poisoning.
The insistence by some that aid should come into no contact whatsoever, even indirectly, with Hamas means NGOs are prevented from repairing basic water and sanitation facilities in schools.
There is a clear moral imperative for Israel and Egypt to end the blockade, as well as it being in their enlightened self-interest to change course. But if they do not do so of their own volition, it is up to the international community to persuade them otherwise.
The EU has huge economic influence over Israel, and it believes the blockade must be lifted. At the same time as exercising leverage over Hamas, it should make clear that the web of preferential agreements which now exists between the EU and Israel – from Israeli access to EU research and development funds to recently improved access for Israeli agricultural products – will be brought into question if there is no rapid progress.
Equally, the US, as by far the largest bilateral donor to Egypt, should press President Mubarak to allow in the humanitarian and reconstruction materials that are so desperately needed.
What will be the state of Gaza's drinking water by next December? Of the health of its children? Of the economy? The attitude of its people towards Egypt and Israel? The risk of waiting another year is too great. Gordon Brown and the international community must urgently declare that enough is enough. The blockade must end.

I wonder if Mr Clegg, from his new position of power in the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition, recalls his words? Perhaps we should ask him. He can be contacted on cleggn@parliament.uk and leader@libdems.org.uk.

Manchester Peace Festival benefit gig

10th May 2010
Benefit night for Manchester Peace Festival
Sand Bar, Grosvenor Street (off Oxford Road) 7.30-late
Music from Vanessa Lewis, Black Jack Barnet, Uncle Meat and the Highway Children, and poetry from Lauren Bolger. And cake. All proceeds to Manchester Peace Festival

Another reply on Palestine (pity about the literacy...) and more election communications

The free postal leaflets for Marc Ramsbottom, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Manchester Central, finally turned up yesterday (a bit late for us postal voters...). This was the biggest of the lot - an A3 size sheet of paper folder into 4 to make an A5 flier. Sadly, the concept of 'less is more' hasn't been introduced to Lib Dem designers. The example below was, unfortunately, crumpled up and put in the recycling by Beloved Husband, so it's a bit creased, but you can see what I mean:






Yesterday's other bit of election communication was the second response I've received to my second round of candidate-mithering via the Palestine Solidarity Campaign website. The first came from Marc Ramsbottom, and yesterday's came from Gayle O'Donovan, the Green Party's main hope for a council seat in Manchester, even though her chances of dislodging Tony Lloyd at Parliamentary level are about level with the survival hopes of a Louisiana seabird.
The email read as follows:

Hi Sarah,
I campaign allot on this issue with Action Palestine, the Free Gaza Boat Project and the PSC. This is a subject close to my heart and I will do whatever is within my power to fight for the rights of Palestinians.
Best Wishes
Gayle O'Donovan

Commendable sentiments, of course. Bit ropey on the literacy side of things, what with 'allot' being a verb meaning to allocate or hand out. It should, of course, be two separate words, 'a lot'. Churlish of me, I know, and I'm sure our pressurised candidates have bigger things to think about than their grammar at this point. But standards, dear boy, standards. It also doesn't specifically say whether she is signing up to the pledge which the email she's replying to asks her to support, and which the Green Party candidates for Manchester Gorton (Justine Hall) and Manchester Withington (Brian Candeland) have signed, according to the list on the PSC website.

Voting algorithm

Beloved husband sent me this the other day. Highly entertaining (although am I alone in not actually recognising the Tory logo? I had to go by process of elimination. Who on earth designed something so incredibly boring and mediocre? It looks like something you'd reject from the logo selection for a set of free business cards).