We have eight more days of Bush and Condi, and Israel seems to be
making the most of it. In the two weeks since the fighting started,
more than 800 Palestinian civilians -- including over 200 children --
have been killed. Think of how much more damage they can do in eight
days.
The US abstained from a unanimous UN resolution
to halt the violence in Gaza immediately, citing the weak excuse that
they were waiting for the outcome of Egyptian mediation. This is no
real surprise, but I'm appealing to the "American" part of "Asian
American" when I address you Hyphen blog readers: does our government's
non-response to this atrocity really represent YOU? Do you want YOUR
tax dollars and human capital enabling this war?
Israel has barred the international media from entering Gaza,
so we've been seeing really bizarre news stories citing reports from
the Israeli military, and "alleging" the hell out of claims by exiled
Hamas leaders. Interestingly, the only international media there --
because they were there since before the fighting began -- is Al
Jazeera. Always ready to jump on opportunities, Al Jazeera has responded to its lack of access to American tv screens by building out its English language website and YouTube channel, and even creating a "war on Gaza" Twitter feed.
I
would encourage everyone to check out Al Jazeera's coverage of this
war, because the only "fair and balanced" coverage we're going to get
will be cobbled together by ourselves. Balance out the
media-blackout-tainted US coverage with the Arab point of view on the
ground. Remember what you've heard. Brace yourselves. Get prepared. We
have an opportunity opening up in eight days.
If you want to get started early, the Network of Spiritual Progressives, organized by the folks at Tikkun Magazine, is collecting signatures and donations
to run full page ads in major media calling for Obama to support an
immediate cease fire and take steps to end the violence permanently. Or
you can simply contact your Senators, Representatives, and leave messages for our next president that you want strong words, and stronger actions, to stop this violence.
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