The murder of these peace activists will count. Sanctions must surely be the price

Ahdaf Soueif, guardian.co.uk, 31 May 2010

This will count. A flotilla of relief boats attacked in international waters. Armed commandos boarding a vessel carrying supplies for a besieged civilian population. More than 10 peace activists reported killed. This has to be made to count.

The dead have joined Rachel Corrie, Tom Hurndall, James Miller and Brian Avery in giving up their lives for the Palestinians. None of these young men and women went out to die or wanted to die or was accepting of death. Each and every one of them ultimately believed that they were safe; that there was a boundary – call it a boundary of legality, a boundary of civilisation – that Israel would not cross. They were wrong. And in proving them wrong, Israel has revealed, once again, its true face to the world.

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by Mazin Qumsiyeh

…..Palestine brings the best in people who have dignity and self respect and brings the worst in others who have tribalism and greed coursing through their veins. There was more dignity in any minute of the short life by Rachel Corrie who stood in front of the Bulldozer in Rafah and lost her life than is represented in lifetimes of by kings, prime ministers, and presidents. There was more dignity in the bloody T-shirt of Basem Abu Rahma when he was shot and killed with a gas canister in Bil’in than among all the palaces of rulers who gather in an Arab summit. And the dignity of one drop of blood shed in the Mediterranean is more than exhibited at the UN Security Council last night. Citizens of Greece and Turkey joined together in the freedom flotilla ships and in the Israeli detention centers. Zionists were out saying there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza and politicians behind closed doors are trying to limit the damage to their reputation instead of asking themselves questions about their direction in life!

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STOP THE WAR COALITION
NEWSLETTER No. 1155
01 June 2010
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
Tel: 020 7801 2768
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) RAGE AGAINST ISRAEL NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION 5 JUNE
2) CHANGES TO ISLAMOPHOBIA CONFERENCE 5 JUNE
3) MUST SEE VIDEO & ARTICLES ON STOP THE WAR WEBSITE
4) WEBSITE AND TWITTER UPDATES

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Nima Shirazi

The Ridiculest:
Bill Maher’s Cultural Supremacy and Religious Hierarchy

Bill Maher makes no secret of his contempt for religion. Via his comedy routines, his political commentary, his film Religulous, and his duties as host of Politically Incorrect and now HBO’s Real Time, Maher has long warned of the dangers and exploitation of organized religion and how incompatible dogma and doctrine are with the scientific enlightenment of modern society.

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Sharon Roffe-Ofir, YNet, 1 June 2010

Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi, who was on board the Marmara ship when it was raided by Navy fighters, held a press conference in Nazareth on Tuesday, in which she accused Israel of committing crimes during its takeover of the Gaza-bound aid ship. She called for an international inquiry into the incident.

Zoabi added, “It was clear from the size of the force that boarded the ship that the purpose was not only to stop this sail, but to cause the largest possible number of fatalities in order to stop such initiatives in the future.”

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