when "yes massa" starts getting old

When “Yes Massa” Starts Getting Old by Imam Zaid Shakir

dhoruba bin wahad / keith ellison

A lively exchange on the nature of effective political change between Rep. Keith Ellison and Dhoruba Bin Wahad. This was actually part of a longer talk by Bin Wahad which took place Feb. 28 of last year, but Ellison happened to be in the audience when Bin Wahad started to criticize the Congressional Black Caucus.
From: Kasama

another "palestinian martin luther king"

A Palestinian born in the Jabalia refugee camp of the Gaza Strip, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish overcame tremendous odds to earn his MD. As an OBGYN he practiced in both Palestine and Israel, frequently commuting between the two countries. In January 2009, during a three-week long war, an Israeli tank fired two shells into the doctor’s home, killing three of his daughters and his niece. Dr. Abuelaish was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize because of his commitment to Israeli/Palestinian reconciliation. He is the founder of Daughters for Peace an organization that provides university scholarships as well as leadership programs on health and education to young women in the Middle East. On January 12 we sat down with Dr. Abuelaish after his public lecture about his new bestselling book, I Shall Not Hate, at the Los Angeles Public Library – a part of their ALOUD series. For further coverage of this conversation and Abuelaish’s bestselling book, you can access Ryan Bell’s piece Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish: the Palestinian Martin Luther King in the Huffington Post. See also: Our Enemy is Our Ignorance: An Interview with Dr Abuelaish

(To be honest, I have reservations about the term "Palestinian Martin Luther King". Although it is good to highlight the fact that Palestinians are making some creative, effective and powerful contributions to the peace process, I also don't want to take away from the specificity of what King did.)

immortal technique on gaza flotilla

soy palestino

An Aljazeera documentary by Palestinian filmaker Osama Qashoo, who goes to Cuba and learns that "Palestino" is Havana slang learns that "Palestino" is Havana slang for second-class citizens from the rural east (Oriente Province).





h/t to MT. Akbar

war-weary jews establish homeland between syria, lebanon, jordan, egypt

The Onion
Tuesday, November 9, 1948

-------
"In Israel, Our People Will Finally Have Safety and Peace," Says Ben-Gurion
--------
Jordan Welcomes New Neighbors with Celbratory Gunfire, Rock Throwing

-------
Jerusalem, Israel--After more than 2,000 years of wandering and persecution, including six million deaths at the hand of Nazi Germany, the Jewish people finally established a homeland Monday, a place of safety and peace nestled between Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

"No longer will the Jewish race live in a constant state of fear and endagerment, its very existence threatened at every turn by hostile outsiders," said David Ben-Gurion, the new nation's first prime minister, addressing a jubiland crowd of Zionists at Jerusalem's Western Wall. "Here in Israel, we are safe, far away from those who seek to destroy us."

For two millennia, the Jewish people have wandered without a home, facing an endless series of hostile enemies. With the establishment of a soverign Jewish state in the Middle East, Israeli officials believe this 2,000-year ordeal has at last come to an end.

"Israel is the land of milk and honey," Ben-Gurion said. "Here there will be no pogroms, no midnight visits from Cossacks, no Nuremberg Laws. The only gunfire we shall hear is that which lingers in our minds from troubled times long past."

Ben-Gurion said he looks forward to years of harmony and cooperation with Israel's neighboring states. "Jordan seems extremely happy to have us as a new neighbor," he said. "Last night, from my window, I could hear great explosions coming from the Gaza Strip. How wonderful of the Palestinian peoples there to celebrate our arrival with fireworks."

In his official greeting to Israel yesterday, Egypt's King Farouk issued the following statement: "Egypt does not and will not ever recognize the so-called state of Israel's right to exist. Israel is a land built on Jewish lies and the spilled blood of countless Arabs. Until the territory called Israel is returned to is rightful Palestinian owners, Egypt will have no choice but to consider itself at war with the Jewish people."

As a token of its good will, Syria presented Israel with a burning Israeli flag, with an attached note that read, "May you be swiftly driven into the sea and drowned."

In the months leading up to Monday's formal declaration of Israeli statehood, hundreds of thousands of Hocaust survivors from around the world have flocked to Israel, where they will finally find a safe haven from anti-Semitism. "This is a dream come true," said Holocaust survivor Zadie Dubrovnik, 59, who left her native Lithuania for Israel last week. "In this place, we will build a refuge of peace, far away from those who hate us."

Ben-Gurion said that with no need to defend itself from enemies, Israel will be free to spend billions of dollars on domestic development that other nations would be forced to devote to a defense budget. Military expenditures are expected to account for just two percent of the country's overall budget, as Israel will be a place of peace, not war.


Also from the Onion:
Israel Bombs Anti-Semitism Out Of Lebanon
Israel Intercepts Massive Palestinian Rock Shipment
Israel, Palestine Now Fighting Over Cemetery Space
War-Torn Middle East Seeks Solace In Religion

see also: on a lighter note...

mark gonzalez - audio intefadeh

The clip from Audio Intefadeh seems to suggest Mark Gonzalez but that's not totally clear to me. In any case, he is a brilliant spoken word artist who is definitely in solidarity with the Palestinian cause and is trying to make a difference through his words and actions.

Audio Intefadeh:


As With Most Men:


MySpace: Mark Gonzalez