All posts by nedhamson

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

A knock on the roof, then another Gaza home destroyed by Israeli missile | World | The Guardian

{Two things are clear here. I. That Israeli military either has infiltrated a number of “spies” into Gaza to gather information and “tag” buildings slated for attack and destruction whenever Israel decided the time was right, or 2. They paid for a lot of information, which like purchased information in Afghanistan by the CIA, turned out to be bad or based, in part, on people who wanted to get even with personal enemies. What is really clear is that a plan has been in place to destroy a number of targets for months and the claim would be self-protection against Hamas and places where rockets were stored. The claims in many cases are false and based on bad information, or just being made up!}

He says he had just returned to his family on Sunday night after working a week straight at an overwhelmed hospital short of resources. “We’ve had tens of deaths and hundreds of injured. I needed to be at the hospital,” he says. “It was just after the time for breaking the Ramadan fast at 7.50pm.

“The IDF called my nephew with a 10-minute warning saying that they planned to destroy my house. Because it took him several minutes to find me, it was less than 10 minutes. I got my family out quickly and warned my neighbours to take care. Then they hit my house with a rocket and then a second.”

He walks through the destruction, picking up a book left on his consulting desk now covered in dust, and examines the tangled crater at the centre of his gutted home.

“I’m at a loss to explain why they did this,” says Tatar, 59. “I have been a doctor for 30 years. First I was a cardiologist, then head of cardiology, then director general. I have tried to reach out through channels to find out why this happened, but I’ve had no reply.”

via A knock on the roof, then another Gaza home destroyed by Israeli missile | World | The Guardian.

Israel’s far right spreads from the fringes | Middle East | DW.DE | 14.07.2014

According to Rachel Elior, a professor of Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, these are dangerous statements that should be banned.

“There are certain circles that want to deny the fact that Palestinians are people just like us. No more, no less,” she said on Israeli radio. “Unfortunately, many think that we are a holy people, and that non-Jews can be defined as unclean and worthy of death.”

The rabbis base their views on ancient and traditional Jewish texts, said Elior, adding that this doesn’t, however, legitimize racism.

The Jewish people have a long history that stretches back more than 3,000 years, she added. The collective memory is shaped by texts, which resulted, in part, from Jews living as a persecuted minority among other peoples, said Elior.

There are written sources over 3,000 years old, and it’s clear “that over such a long period of time there are all sorts of beliefs that are no longer acceptable today,” she said. “Just as we no longer have slaves or maidservants, although there are religious laws that permit doing so, you cannot allow racist comments based on these Israeli sources.”

via Israel’s far right spreads from the fringes | Middle East | DW.DE | 14.07.2014.

No Love for Veterans – NYTimes.com

When Republican opponents of federal jobless benefits say that aid to the unemployed encourages idleness, that includes veterans.

When they say that the nation can’t afford to pay for federal jobless benefits, that includes veterans. They are also, not incidentally, dissembling, because the Senate-passed extension was paid for with offsets. Besides, even if the money to pay for jobless benefits were borrowed, it would be more than worth it.

There is no doubt that federal unemployment benefits are still needed. Even with recent improvements in job growth, nearly a third of the nation’s 9.5 million unemployed people have been out of work for six months or longer, a level that is far higher than at any time before the Great Recession in records going back to 1948.

In addition, no previous Congress has ever let federal benefits expire when long-term joblessness has been as bad as it is today.

That’s not love and gratitude. It’s disdain and thanklessness.

via No Love for Veterans – NYTimes.com.

Ebola virus outbreak in Techiman, Ghana is imminent | Health News 2014-07-14

Many people show unconcerned when it comes to the discussion of disease outbreaks in Ghana; thinking that the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service owe the responsibility to curb the disease. This attitude has precipitated the cause of disease outbreaks in Africa and particularly in Ghana. The earlier we change this attitude, the better we can control diseases to the extent of not even causing outbreaks.

Currently, Ghana due to her international territories is imminent for the Ebola disease outbreak and cities including Techiman where there is African market that serves the whole West Africa. Due to the influx of people from all walks of life to the Techiman market, Ebola virus disease is likely to occur in Techiman if preventative measures are not taken. It would be important that all meaningful Ghanaians join the advocacy against the Ebola virus.

via Ebola virus outbreak in Techiman is imminent | Health News 2014-07-14.

When the Heart is Full of Love There is no Place for Hatred

The Villages Group: Cooperation in Israel-Palestine

9.7.14

To our friends,

I have already been sitting for an hour, staring at the empty word page and not finding words that would describe the pain – the pain of those of us who see straight. The pain of the sober, of those who knew that the bottled demon grows and grows, and when it is let out, it will be unbearable. And it has been let out.

Last night I spoke with my good friend from Gaza. Over the phone he heard the din blast of the Gazan rockets that exploded near us, in an open field. At my end, I heard the Israeli bombing from the air near his home. We talked. He said: “You know what my dreamiest dream is? My dream is that still in my own lifetime I will be able to have coffee with you and your family (whom he knows personally from…

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Egyptian Aak 2014 – Week 28 ( July 7- 13)

Nervana

Rafah border

(Photo of Palestinians stranded at the Rafah Border. Via Twitter)

Main Headlines

 Monday

Tuesday

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