Here is what I think

Ok. lets get down to business. Watching the news is always an excellent conversation starter. Especially among people with different political views. Lets talk Palestinian territories and Israel. As much as this conflict is rooted in history this is 2008/9. We live in a modern world and the current situation is bad news bears.
I just deleted previous section due to unpredented new knowledge. books are amazing. the book is on israel's occupation and details methods of control from 1967 through today. The striking thing i find in the news today is 1. disproportionate violence. as if proportionate violence of israeli's would make this all okay. 2. that hamas is the aggressor and israeli military is on the defense. as has been pointed out, an occupying force can never truly be on the 'defense' to protect itself. could france claim self defense in Algeria? Japan in China? no. What stikes me as so insane in all of this is that the US has voted down every UN peace settlement that is unfavorable to israel. While I do believe that the holocaust warrants protection of jewish people and awareness of their history of oppression, i do not believe that behaving in kind can be justified. The US media is so starchly uncritical of israel because it is like looking into a mirror. Attacking Hamas is essentially attacking all males over the age of 14 (or even younger) and rendering any kind of civil dissent as terrorist. Sound familiar? It goes to the very heart of what we consider 'terrorism', what creates violence, and how to combat it.
The book goes into detail about how the hospitals, schools, communication, borders, what you can/ cannot sell, electricity... everything imaginable was controlled and regulated by Israel. The creation of the internal spy system reminds me a lot of colombia. How much fear it brings to daily life and effective it is to styfle organizing and relationships because you are afraid of your neighbors. Promotions, lives, reduced sentences etc. were ways to get people to comply. The appartus really is quite immpressive. the palestininan authority was only created by the US and Israel as a proxy government because public opinion was against israel to openly occupy west bank and gaza. But with out a viable economy, no resources to build it with, civilian leadership infrastructure virtually destroyed by the occupation, half the population under 15, massive unemployement, a majority of people living off only through ngo welfare, israel still controls the borders, the country is level in shambles and essentially still 'occupied'. why does a radical group like hamas get elected? doesn't take a genious. why are people unrelated to hamas resisting but being called terrorists? it is impossible not to resist the occupation, essentially every civilian is a terrorist, every terrorist is a civilian.

My new book is awesome: "The revolution will not be funded" only two essays in and it has a lot to think about. #1 human rights career is an oxymoron. (is that spelled right? moron.. haha) An NGO's primary focus should be enabling the movement, not the face of it. People who are trying to create a career for themselves must get paid. Career = paid. This not only moderates you, but also contributes to the idea that working for social justice is a profession rather than a way of life. That 'experts' better understand the world and only a certain few have the obligation and knowledge to act on our behalf. in the remembered word of the book: as if a few should or could do the work of many.
And.. interesting paragraph - why are poor people studied so intensely to understand their ' condition'. Why not study the rich and actually risk yourself. I find it an interesting topic. How many rich people are sellouts. And more specific - to boil down the ways that money is maintained. Using three case studies - ultra rich: possibly even a do gooder like Bill gates. Then a semi rich Josephine, then Joe the plumber type. And compare the ways in which their income/ spending etc. mushrooms out to exacerbate (spelling...) and perpetuate or what not oppression. Oppression easily defined but yet narrowed when only studying sweat shop labor, businesses without unions etc. This shall be my project.
Now off to read my fabulous book and figure out in what other ways I am a sellout. Although some comforting part of me recognizes that even though I want to have a human rights career, I do so because i want to further specific movements, and I would give my life for what I believe in. (not god) I am not a sellout intentionally, and life is a learning process. Understanding all ways that we contribute to "the system"
- On a closing note, snowboarding is awesome

Jericho movement!

I went to a really awesome discussion + documentary last night which spurred me on to a study day today and i have been listening to audio broadcasts on blackwater and speeches from death row inmates. I feel very inspired at the moment, so here is some cool stuff I have been learning!

The jericho movement is a movement to free the 100 + political prisoners in the U.S. www.thejerichomovement.com (it tells it way better than me) The discussion was about 8 of them. Formerly part of the black panther movement of the 60's they were framed in the killing of a policeman in San Fransisco. referred to now as the SF8. With out evidence, witnesses, or a murder weapon they were charged with murder. 3 of them were tortured which produced confessions. the case was later thrown out due to the fact that it is against U.S law to use evidence from coerced testimony. Sooo, fast forward 30 years: in 2003 the same men (6 of them) were tracked down and the trial is again being pursued. The murder of the police officer. they were only recently let out on bail after spending a year+ in prison. (these are senior citizens) The prosecution has yet to introduce any new evidence and a grand jury has thrown out the case 4 (5?) times and they have yet to receive an indictment. The two other "SF8" framed for the san fransisco cop murder did end up in prison after being set up a second time in New York. They have been in jail for 35 years. The main witness who testified against them recanted on public television saying he had been tortured by the police.

The attorney for the SF8 was at the discussion and she brought up how Barack Obama said he might negotiate with Cuba if Raul Castro freed the political prisoners. But what Castro should respond with is he will only deal with America if we free the more than 100 political prisoners that we are holding. The documentary that goes with the 'Free the SF8 movement' links the repression of social justice movements and torture (then) to the war on terror - now to show that this is not a new phenomena, and the tactics are alamingly similar. They talked about how the FBI tried to get them to testify against eachother, but instead it has built the movement to go around the country and talk about how the government is trying to discredit them with evidence that wasn't admissable 30 years ago but might now be because of the war on terror.

other tidbits from my audio lectures of today...

Colombia: about 50% of the military aid is spent on contracts for DynCorp - private defense contractors. - Part of the current negotiations with Bolivia for its Counternarcotics aid proram was that they have to hire out DynCorp for a percentage of its military operations. (although now on hold because bolivia expelled US ambassador) excellent... - Blackwater and Dyncorp and an Israeli defense contract firm were sent to New Orleans in the wake of Hurrican Katrina because Bush had deployed the National Guard to Iraq. This is illegal on so many levels. (military not allowed to patrol u.S cities much less private defense corporations) - there are more than 300 private defense contract firms operating in Iraq. - at the time of research, the average Blackwater employee made more than Gen. Petraeus

audio lectures are awesome!! - also watched the documentary "paying the price" on UN sanctions on Iraq under Clinton and how devestating that was. 500,000 children under the age of 5 died. (by film maker John Pilger)