All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

“I didn’t get accepted into any of the universities that I…

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“I didn’t get accepted into any of the universities that I wanted, and I ended up going to a lesser quality school. I hated being there. On the first day, I thought about buying a plane ticket and going home. I felt like I had nothing in common with the people around me. I felt like they belonged and I didn’t. My plan was just to survive– get through six lectures a day, keep to myself, and get back to my dorm room as soon as possible. I didn’t even talk to my own roommate. I’m ashamed of it now. I was so rude and self-centered, and it ended up making me lonely and miserable. I felt depressed. I was barely sleeping. Then one night I overheard my roommate talking on the phone with her mother. And I could tell she was having family problems. After she hung up, we stayed up all night talking. I told her that I was having a hard time too. She became my best friend after that night. We’d have dinner together. Whenever I left the room, she’d ask me where I was going. It felt so good to have someone worry about me. It’s been an important six months for me. I’ve realized how much I need other people. By not valuing the people around me, I was only hurting myself.”

(Mumbai, India)

Lebanon Bans Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” Because Of His Support of Israel, Proving The Country Is Run By Stone Age Airheads

At the rate Lebanon’s censorship bureau has been going for the past year, the country might as well have rang in 1918 instead of 2018, because the situation has become unacceptable.

The latest victim of a censorship bureau that doesn’t want to upset what’s becoming a form of cultural terrorism in the country is Steven Spielberg’s “The Post,” a stunning drama that is absolutely VITAL to be seen today.

The reason why Lebanon has an issue with Spielberg is both anti-semitic and because of the country’s anti-Israel laws. When Spielberg’s Tintin was released, his name was struck out from the poster in order to upset anyone due to his last name’s obvious Jewish background. His name was eventually added to the blacklist of the Arab League’s Central Boycott (of Israel) Office because of a donation he made to the Zionist state in 2006.

Yes, Spielberg making donations to Israel is abhorrent, but he’s not the only Hollywood figure to do so, nor will he be the last. When and where do we draw the ridiculous line about what we ban and allow in this country when it pertains to Israel, because this sure as hell is pushing it. An American director, with no ties to the country in question except for his religion, makes a contribution to the country like thousands of other Westerners and Americans do, and he’s suddenly persona non-grata?

To make matters worse, the decision to add Spielberg to that Arab ban list occurred in 2007. He’s had countless movies released in the area since, without any form of controversy. He has been director and producer of many movies that were released without a glitch in the area. Of those movies, I list: Transformers, The BFG, Bridge of Spies, Jurrasic World, Lincoln, etc…

Over the past 10 years, Lebanon has screened SIXTEEN movies in which Spielberg was either directing or producing. And here comes 2018, with Lebanon’s BDS office finding new muscle in our government, and the country won’t be able to get any of his movies ever again.

I would call such a ban illogical, but those calling for him to be blanket banned don’t really understand logic. They are the same people who believe Gal Gadot’s existence in a movie is a covert attempt at spreading zionism into the subconscious of the Arab masses, except in Gal Gadot’s case the argument was that she was actually Israeli, whereas in Spielberg’s case, the affront is an association to the n’th degree, just to appease to some people’s hypersensitivity, but I digress.

Being in the United States, I had the pleasure to watch “The Post” in its opening weekend a few days ago. The movie, set in the 1970s, features legends Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks as the owner and editor of the Washington Post at that time, respectively, as they try to reveal government secrets about the Vietnam War, during Nixon’s White House, as he attempts to silence the press.

The movie, based on a true story, is exceedingly important in today’s day and age where freedom of speech, the press, and the important of expression are all threatened. The irony of a movie about fighting off censorship being censored in a country that is developing a knee-jerk response to anything that ruffles its feathers should not escape you.

What we have in Lebanon is a bunch of airheads in power, whose brains only function in binaries, and who can’t appreciate enough nuances to be able to distinguish between cause to ban (which should never exist, but it’s Lebanon) and not. Instead, The Post is the second movie to be banned this week after Daniel Radcliffe’s “Jungle” also receives the same fate, when it’s discovered that the screenwriter, and some of the people involved in the making of the movie are Israelis.

To expect any movie coming in from the U.S. to be Israel-free is non-sensical. To expect any media import that we get from the big bad West to be Israel free is stupid. What’s next, banning everything that breathes because of a positive opinion they have of the Jewish state? I’m willing to bet those calling for the movie to be banned have watched countless Steven Spielberg movies before.

I expect this bullshit we’re dealing with not to decrease over the next few months, but to further perpetuate like the rabid fire it’s becoming. The next Nathalie Portman movie? Forget about it. Anything featuring Gal Gadot? Forget about that either. Any Steven Spielberg movie coming up after The Post? Nope. It’s just sad.

Again, I reiterate what I’ve said countless times before. Boycotts are not bans. Boycotts add to whatever message the BDS folks want to propagate in the country, whilst bans do the exact opposite. With every single movie they cause to be banned, they lose more people who’d be willing to support them. But I guess they don’t really care about that, either.

The hypocrisy of banning movies in Lebanon because they’re an easy target should not escape anyone. There are products distributed in the market, and imprinted in everyone’s personal life, that are also related in one way or another to Israel, but BDS’ dependency on such products will never have them call for bans.

The lines that movies can’t cross in this country are increasing by the day. “Call Me By Your Name,” the year’s best movie, won’t be released because of its LGBT theme. Movies are banned because Israel. Movies are banned because they upset Christian or Muslim clergy. At this rate, there’s no point in cinema in this country anymore.

Until then, enjoy streaming the movie online or buying it for $2 at your local bootleg DVD store. The biggest loser in all of this bullshit is that Lebanese distributor, in this case Italia Films, that already bought the rights for the movie and will be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, as did Joseph Chacra with Wonder Woman, just because we have easily-influenced entities in offices of power, without any ounce of backbone whatsoever.

The Little Things in Life Are the Biggest Ones.

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“Enjoy the little things in life because one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut

2017. My grandma died. I got the flu and couldn’t walk properly for two months. I spent a good three months feeling paranoid I had breast cancer before finally getting checked out and discovering it was nothing. My partner and I argued. I yelled at my kids. I cried. I swore. I felt disappointed. I felt useless. I felt aimless. I felt insufficient. I felt like a failure.

It would be easy for me to throw last year on the scrap pile of years that sucked if I hadn’t done this one powerful thing: I spent a day going back through my journal, collating a list of highlights.

I rediscovered so many great things that had already started to fade towards forgotten: my travels far and wide, fun business projects, and special times with special people.

But the most wonderful things were the little things:

Handmade cards, road trips, horse-riding with Dad, jam-making with Mum, a last visit with Nana, coffee dates, swimming in the ocean, bike-riding, picnics, dinner at the local pizza joint, flowers, visits from old friends, foot massages, picking wild blackberries with my sis, thunderstorms, seeing the Pixies live, movies and mixed lollies, cuddles, sleeping in the back of the car on a deserted beach, playing guitar and jamming with friends, the night sky, forest walks, heart-to -hearts with my kids, heart-to-hearts with my partner, climbing mountains and drawing with my kids, Yoga, cold-ocean-swimming followed by campfire and hot porridge, watching the winter sun rise over the ocean with the kids and a cup of tea, botanical art classes, champagne in the spa, hot cross buns, camping, learning to play magic cards with the boys, Mum moving closer, being gifted an electric guitar, legs and arms that work, running water, kofta balls, love notes.

Are the little things enough?

I know friends who had years much more challenging and sucky than mine. Friends who went through life-threatening health issues and surgery. Friends who got divorced, lost money, lost jobs, lost loved ones. Friends who thought about ending it all.

So when life feels like that, isn’t being told to enjoy the little things a little irritating?

When I’m in the midst of extreme challenges, processing grief or simply sliding down the self-hatred spiral, and someone vomits an affirmation in my direction, I don’t find it uplifting or inspiring. It just makes me want to slap them.

Yes, there it is, annoyingly candy-coated, but…

… it is the little things that matter most, and yes, they are enough.

Buddhist nun Tenzin Palmo says the problem with life is that we believe there should be no problems. But did you ever hear of anyone ever with no problems?

Did you ever have a year that didn’t suck majorly some of the time?

The cold, hard, truth is, life is going to suck, this year is going to suck at times, today might suck. This year might be even worse than last year. Some really big, bad, challenging shit might be on its way.

But you can look that sucker in the face and say bring it on, ’cause I’ve got the little things and they are what really matter.

So if you haven’t already done so, take some time today to make a list of all the little things that made last year great.

And this year:

1. Keep a journal (you’ll be surprised how much you forgot)

2. Write love notes (to everyone and anyone)

3. Learn to love problems

4. And failing all else, eat kofta balls. They make everything okay.

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LeonieOrtonLeonie Orton is a blogger who writes intimate stories about life. She is also a freelance copywriter and editor working with people and businesses that make the world a better place. She’s also a mother, flower-loving, get-her-hands-dirty-veggie-gardening, coffee-drinking, Yoga-teaching, sometimes swearing, adventurous and passionate woman of too many words. You can get in touch with her via her website and Facebook, or sign up at her weekly(ish) blog.

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Rebelle Society

Rebelle Society is a unique, revolutionary online magazine reporting daily acts of Creative Rebellion and celebrating the Art of Being Alive. Rebelle Society is also a virtual country for all creatively maladjusted rebels with a cause, trying to lead an extraordinary life and inspire the world with their passion. Join us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter for daily bites of Creative Rebellion. Join our Rebelle Insider List along with over 40k Dreamers & Doers around the world for FREE creative resources, news & inspiration in the comfort of your inbox.

The post The Little Things in Life Are the Biggest Ones. appeared first on Rebelle Society.

Doctors group releases startling analysis of the death and destruction inflicted upon Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan from the “War on Terror” in Body Count

March 19, 2015

Contact: Tim Takaro, MD, MPH, MS
Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences
Simon Fraser University
778-782-7186  ttakaro@sfu.ca 

On March 19, 2015–the 12th anniversary of the onset of our country’s ill-fated military intervention in Iraq–Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is releasing the latest edition of Body Count for North American distribution.

The pdf of Body Count is available for download here: http://ift.tt/2EHKZMc

The report, authored by members and colleagues of the German affiliate of the Nobel Prize-winning International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), is a comprehensive account of the vast and continuing human toll of the various “Wars on Terror” conducted in the name of the American people since the events of September 11, 2001.

This publication highlights the difficulties in defining outcomes as it compares evaluations of war deaths in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.  Even so, the numbers are horrific.  The number of Iraqis killed during and since the 2003 U.S. invasion have been assessed at one million, which represents 5% of the total population of Iraq.  This does not include deaths among the three million refugees subjected to privations. 

Dr. h.c. Hans-C. von Sponeck, UN Assistant Secretary General & UN Humanitarian

Coordinator for Iraq (1998-2000) calls the report, “a powerful aide mémoire of their legal and moral responsibility to hold perpetrators accountable.”

Body Count takes a clear and objective look at the various and often contradictory–reports of mortality in conflicts directed by the U.S. and allied forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The result is a fuller picture of the devastation and lethality to civilian non-combatants throughout these regions. Unfortunately, these deaths have been effectively hidden from our collective consciousness and consciences by political leaders seeking to pursue military solutions to complex global issues with little, if any, accountability.

At a time when our nation is once again contemplating new and expanded military operations in Iraq and Syria, Body Count underscores the scope of human destruction that helps fuel the widespread anger at the Coalition Forces. It similarly provides the context to understand the rise of brutal forces such as ISIS thriving in the wake of our leaders’ failures. After an estimated cost of at least three trillion dollars over a decade of warfare, we need to fully account for our responsibility and learn the appropriate lessons to avoid a tragic exacerbation of the explosive situation we face today.

Download the report at http://ift.tt/2EHKZMc.

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Trump to cut millions from UN agency for Palestinian refugees – officials

No sense, no morals, no ethics – not a surprise!

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US officials say only $60m of $125m for UN Relief and Works Agency likely as compromise between Mattis and Tillerson and hardline UN ambassador Haley

The Trump administration is preparing to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, cutting the year’s first contribution by more than half or perhaps entirely and making additional donations contingent on major changes to the organization, US officials said.

Donald Trump has not made a final decision but appears more likely to send only $60m of a planned $125m first installment to the UN Relief and Works Agency, said the officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.

Continue reading…

84 Israeli violations against media freedoms in Palestine in December 2017

MADA/ Ramallah/

The last month of 2017 witnessed a sharp rise in attacks against media freedoms in Palestine as a result of a wave of Israeli attacks that accompanied the unrest in the Palestinian territories in protest against the US administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The total number of violations monitored by the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) in December 2017 amounted to a total of 89 violations committed by the Israeli occupation, 84 of them, noting that the Palestinian official authorities did not commit any violations during this month. 5 of the incidents consisted of the injuries of five journalists from stones thrown by demonstrators during clashes with the Israeli occupation army.

The attacks included 9 women journalists who were subjected to serious attacks just as similar as there male’s journalists colleagues.

In addition, most if not all journalists who participated in covering these incidents on the ground suffocated from the gas bombs or they were at risk of obstructing their work or indirectly preventing them from carrying out their work and covering these protests.

It was noted during this month that the Israeli army used a new method to block the picture and prevent journalist to cover the image of what is happening on the ground, through mass detention of journalists (the detention ends when the event ends), and also using mass expulsion to prevent journalists from the opportunity to transfer the reality of what is happening on the ground.

This procedure was repeated at least twice, the first was in Hebron on 20-12-2017 and the second was implemented in Jerusalem on 29-12-2017.

On 20-12-2017, the Israeli occupation forces prevented all journalists from covering demonstrations in three locations in the city of Hebron (Bab al-Zawiya, Hawawra, and the police bridge area south of Halhul). They were expelled from the three sites and threatened with arrest if they did not comply.

In the city of Jerusalem, the Israeli occupation forces, forced dozens of journalists who were present on 29-29-2017 at Bab al-Amoud to cover the events of the fourth Friday of the Palestinian protests, to be located only behind metal barriers set by the police, and prevented them from moving freely to cover the protest that attracted the attention of dozens of foreign and Palestinian media on that day.

Furthermore, Israeli social networking pages were flooded this month with incitement to violence against journalists and the media, which led to direct calls for the killing of journalists and the removal of the media from the sites of events to prevent the transmission of what is happening on the ground from Israeli attacks. It is interesting to note that some Israeli journalists took part in this wave of incitement, as well as the silence of the Israeli authorities, who have been arresting and persecuting any Palestinian who may write or publish a statement interpreted by the Israeli authorities as inciting against the occupation or the Israelis.