There would have been thousands of people today trying to make their way to the forbidden Pearl Roundabout, marking the first anniversary of the uprising. Thousands had tried, unsuccessfully, to get there the day before. They were turned by overwhelming doses of tear gas, birdshot, rubber bullets and concussion grenades. From early morning on February [...]
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Today’s demonstration in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, started out as a festive affair. This was a permitted march, so parents felt it was safe to bring their children. Women with flowing black abayas, toddlers in tow, moved into position with a sense of determination and excitement. Today, February 13, was one day before the February 14 [...]
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
We started the day with a media training where we broke into groups and practiced answering some of the hardest media questions. Many of them involved the issue of Hamas (we don't support any party; we don't support the targeting of civilians; we are doing this to support the civilian population, most of whom are under 18); others were questions about why we were willing to put ourselves at risk to go on the boat. People spoke from the heart about their reasons for going, which is quite compelling. Many have been to the West Bank and/or Gaza and seen the abuses by the Israeli military firsthand. Others are Jewish and feel a particular responsibility. Almost 30% of the group is Jewish, which is amazing given that Jews are less than 2 % of the U.S. population![...]
Thursday, April 28, 2011
At the end of one of my first journeys to the Israeli-occupied West Bank in 2004, I endured a shocking experience at Ben-Gurion Airport. I never imagined that Israeli security forces would abuse a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor, but they held me for five hours, and strip-searched and cavity-searched every part of my naked body. The only shame these security officials expressed was to turn their badges around so that their names were invisible[...]
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
At 1 a.m. on Wednesday, February 2, I was speaking to one of the thousands of protesters planning to spend the night in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. “I hope you’ll get at least a few hours sleep,” I said, as we parted. “We don’t need to sleep,” he smiled. “We have been sleeping for 30 years.”
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
And we say, “no kidding.” Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was quoted in an AP report yesterday as saying,”We cannot succeed … in Afghanistan by killing Afghan civilians”. While he stays tight-lipped about the disastrous unmanned drones, he goes on to say that it will take at least 2 YEARS [...]
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
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