All posts by nedhamson

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

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Starwalker Videos lyrics

Starwalker he’s a friend of mine

You’ve seen him looking fine

He’s a straight talker, he’s a Starwalker

Don’t drink no wine

Ay way hey o heya

Wolf Rider shes a friend of your’s

You’ve seen her opening doors,

She’s a history turner, she’s a sweetgrass burner

And a dog soldier

Ay hey way hey way heya

Lightning Woman, Thunderchild

Star soldiers one and all oh

Sisters, Brothers all together

Aim straight, Stand tall

Starwalker is a friend of mine

You’ve seen him looking fine

He’s a straight talker, he’s a Starwalker

Don’t drink no wine

Ah way hey o hey…

Aya hey hey heyo way hey heyo

ay hey hey heya

Hey way hey way heya

Heya wey yoh

Ay hey way hey way heya

via Buffy Sainte-Marie: Starwalker Videos lyrics.

Afghan Women’s Writing Project | Listen to Me

Please listen to me.

Don’t tell me what I want.

Don’t tell me what my happiness is,

What the best is for me,

What you want me to do.

Listen to me.

What I want is different

From what you think

Is good for me.

I cannot be you for me.

Discover me instead.

Let me speak out.

If you listen to me,

I can change my world.

I can live the world.

I want my children to live differently

than yours.

I want to live differently too.

A forward thinker,

a taboo breaker, I think. I decide.

My unspoken words, sharp,

They compile in my throat.

I have shrewd thoughts of my future.

It is selfish

For you to impose your ideas, force

Your beliefs on me—I am

A girl of a different time, and

Times have changed.

I cannot live like my grandma did.

She was not for herself.

Her words died and were buried with her.

But I am ready for change.

I won’t listen if you don’t listen.

I shake the world with my voice.

A new day today,

We must listen.

You listen to me,

And I listen to you.

By Marzia N.

via Afghan Women’s Writing Project | Listen to Me.

Israel’s march of folly to the Jordan Valley – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Many losers. They are the citizens of Israel, whose fate has been sealed, in the best case, by a group of cynics who treat them like idiots. In the worst case, the future of their state, its standing and image are in the hands of negligent and ignorant representatives.

The ministers who raised their hands in favor of imposing Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley are making a mockery of a key position adopted by the government in which they serve. How can one take seriously the declarations of Israel’s commitment to a two-state solution, when an important ministerial committee decides to annex the Jordan Valley, which constitutes 28.3% of the land on which a Palestinian state is supposed to be established? What do they propose to do with the approximately 60,000 Palestinians living in 29 villages around Jericho, Wadi al-Fara’a and the northern Jordan Valley?

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon is certainly right: Israel does not have a Palestinian partner — especially not for a permanent agreement that expropriates the Jordan Valley from the Palestinian state, perpetuates the annexation of East Jerusalem and rams the Ariel bloc of Jewish settlements into the heart of the West Bank. There has not been and will never be a Palestinian partner for a Bantustan-style two-state solution.

It is obvious that there is no Israeli partner for an agreement that provides the 1948 Palestinian refugees with the right to return to Israel. The Palestinian leadership has given up the demand to enable hundreds of thousands of refugees to return to their homes. This was made abundantly clear in an interview granted last year to Israel’s Channel 2 in which Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said he would be satisfied with a visit to his birthplace of Safed as a tourist. The PA has been gearing up in recent years to absorb most of the refugees who will want to settle in the new state, on land between a reconfigured Green Line (according to a land swap agreement) and the Jordan River.

via Israel’s march of folly to the Jordan Valley – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East.

Erdogan Threatened By Expanding Turkey Corruption Scandal – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Erdogan reacted obstinately to the protests in the summer, berating his critics as \”bums\” and having his security forces fire tear gas at them. He has also proved to be relentless in the current crisis. Some 500 police officers have been transferred, and Erdogan also attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to gain control over investigations by decree. But in contrast to the Gezi protests, this time Erdogan will not be able to bring the crisis under control by taking a tough approach. It is already becoming clear that the scandal could break apart his party.

Erdogan\’s goal of having himself elected president in the summer is becoming more and more tenuous. He would like to endow the position with significantly more power, but he is now unlikely to secure the necessary two-thirds majority in parliament. But under Turkey\’s Political Parties Law, he can no longer run for prime minister. It\’s possible that he will try to rewrite the law to remain in power, but there is already growing resistance within the AKP to such a move. President Abdullah Gül, in particular, now opposes his longtime ally.

Finally, the economy, the most important factor in persuading many citizens to vote for Erdogan, is growing weaker. The Turkish lira recently fell to a record low. Foreign investment, which brought in capital that fueled the boom of recent years, has been in decline for some time. If investors continue to withdraw money from Turkey, the result could be an economic slump, which could cost Erdogan votes.

The opposition is sending a candidate with serious prospects of winning the race for mayor of Istanbul in next March\’s local elections. This makes AKP officials increasingly nervous, because they know that whoever loses Istanbul will lose Turkey.

via Erdogan Threatened By Expanding Turkey Corruption Scandal – SPIEGEL ONLINE.

güle güle kapı yolu dışarı vurmak izin vermeyin

Deadly car bomb strikes southern suburb of Lebanon’s capital – France – France 24

 

The Lebanese capital has been hit by a series of bombs in recent months, including one last week that killed a former minister and political adversary of Hezbollah.

In November, another 25 people were killed by suicide bombers at the Iranian embassy in southern Beirut, and explosions have also hit other nearby Hezbollah districts and Sunni mosques in the northern city of Tripoli.

Sectarian tensions in Lebanon have mounted in recent months due to the conflict in neighbouring Syria. Hezbollah has sent fighters to Syria to join the forces of President Bashar al-Assad, who is from the Alawite sect of Shiite Islam, while Sunni Muslims from Lebanon have gone to Syria to fight alongside the rebels trying to topple him.

via Deadly car bomb strikes southern suburb of Lebanon’s capital – France – France 24.

Chinese donkey meat recalled at Wal-Mart after it is found to contain fox – Asia – World – The Independent

Wal-Mart Selling Donkey Meat in China!?! And Oops! Mixed with a Little Fox Meat Too!?!

According to local news reports, the problem was first brought to the attention of food standards officials when a customer, identified only by his surname Wang, found the so-called donkey meat looked, smelled and tasted strange.He sent the product to a testing institute, and the Shandong Food and Drug Administration later announced that it contained fox meat.Wal-Mart said it has launched an investigation into the incident, adding that the manager at a supplier’s factory had already been detained.“We are deeply sorry for this whole affair,” said Wal-Marts China president and CEO, Greg Foran. “It is a deep lesson that we need to continue to increase investment in supplier management.”Shaun Rein, the Shanghai-based managing director of China Market Research CMR Group, told Reuters: “This is another hit on Wal-Marts brand, meaning wealthy shoppers will start to lose the trust they had before.”

via Chinese donkey meat recalled at Wal-Mart after it is found to contain fox – Asia – World – The Independent.

British workers left unprotected says Labour as immigration row deepens | UK news | theguardian.com

** Racism pervades both left and right in UK – what’s a South Asian-, Caribbean-, Pacific-, or African-English person to think — what me – next for the hate, mate?**

The government has failed to introduce measures to protect the rights of low-skilled British workers whose jobs may be threatened by new migrants from eastern Europe, a Labour shadow minister has claimed.

As Britain opened its borders to Bulgarian and Romanian workers on New Year\’s Day, David Hanson, the shadow immigration minister, said the government has ignored calls to strengthen existing legislation that could stop employers from undercutting British employees\’ wages by recruiting from overseas.

His comments came as the first Romanians and Bulgarians with unrestricted access to the UK labour market began to arrive amid a deepening political row.

via British workers left unprotected says Labour as immigration row deepens | UK news | theguardian.com.

Hebron police destroy 80 “illegal vehicles” | Maan News Agency

Palestinian police destroy people’s vehicles not registered/permitted and Israeli police and military destroy homes built without proper permits… Hmmm? So Israel may have destroyed your home and forced you out into the street to live in your car and then the Hebron police threw you out of your car and smashed your street home! Good thing you don’t presently require a permit for breathing from either police!

“Police in Hebron on Wednesday destroyed 80 motor vehicles not officially registered with the PA Ministry of Transportation.”

via Hebron police destroy 80 “illegal vehicles” | Maan News Agency.

Egypt’s new political map – Daily News Egypt

First, the ongoing crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood did not tame political Islam in Egypt. In fact, the opposite is true. Al-Azhar wants to be the sole guardian of Islam in Egypt, while the anti-Muslim brotherhood Salafis want to be the protector of Sunni doctrine, and all the while the junta wants to enlist Islamism to serve their nationalist agenda.

Both al-Azhar figures and Salafis are passionately defending the army, but they are also defending the role of religion in the state. In their opinion, religion should not be abused in politics, but it should also not be banned. Pro-coup non- Brotherhood Islamists are fighting hard to weaken the most organised Islamist group in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, to capitalise on its downfall, and to enlarge their political base. Despite this, they are not united on a clear vision on how religion should be framed inside Egypt’s new constitution. The Salafi Al-Nour party is fighting hard to keep article 219 unchanged, while other scholars advocate removing it. Interestingly, other “moderate” Islamists such as Abul Fotouh have decided not to participate in the constitutional assembly. How all this will work out at the end is still unclear.

via Egypt’s new political map – Daily News Egypt.

We are not martyrs

Hummus For Thought

The “I Am NOT a Martyr” Campaign (#notamartyr) has less than a day of existence and can already boast over 1,000 followers on itsFacebook page. You can understand why: We Lebanese are pissed at innocent victims being called martyrs in someone else’s war.

Yes, someone else’s war. 16 year old Mohammad Chaar is neither a Martyr nor a Hero. He’s a victim. And so was Georgette Sarkissian. And so were all other civilians murdered in the past years. They are victims of someone’s war against someone else for something which only affected them, and affects us, in that it is making our daily lives harder and harder.

We have become a nation of justified claustrophobia and justified paranoia; we have stopped hoping that this bomb would be the last because we know that another bomb will soon follow; we are living in the not-so-discreet shadow of our catastrophic civil war and are…

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