Aref Nammari (goplayer)'s blog/

Some of you may already know that I do not support either of the main presidential canditates. I would have been inclined to support Obama. His message of hope and change gave me hope initially that things might change under his leadership. After all he is young and well educated and has been a community activist. I thought that he would actually bring the change--or at least put the country on the right track. I was disappointed when he went grovelling to AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee otherwise known as the Israel Lobby or "The Lobby") to express his unconditional support for Israel and then selecting Biden to be his running mate. Biden in a TV interview boasted of being a "Zionist". "I am a Zionist" he said,"you don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist."

Here's the Biden interview.

As the campaign progressed, I became certain that it is politics as usual. The same corporations contribute to both. The same show and the same lack of allowing "outsiders" in the debate all point to one certainty that change will be minimal if at all forthcoming.

Having said that, McCain and his bimbo mate for VP are much worse. It is forgone conclusion that I never even thought of voting for him. A vote for McCain is a vote for the continuation of the disastrous policies of W. McCain's advisor on the economy is Phil Gramm the same Phil Gramm who authored and pushed legislation which allowed the financial debacle that we have witnessed in the last few weeks. As for Palin everything is the will of god. A pipeline through Alaska, a war in Iraq, a war on Iran or even Russia is the will of god. Scary thought.

However, whatever veil of decency McCain was wearing fell off during a campaign meeting recently. In response to a woman who said that she did not trust Obama because he is Arab McCain had this to say: "No ma'am he is not. He is a decent family man"

There you have it folks you can be Arab or a decent family man but not both. Fanning the flames of racism and hatred among the ingnorant has been the strategy of the right wing neocons. They feed the fear and transform it into pure racism and vile hatred.

In America and to some extent in some European countries it has become open season on Arabs and Muslims. Haven't we learned anything? WWII and the Nazi holocaust are not that far into the past. Are we going to allow this to happen again? Remember, the holocaust did not start with the gas chambers.

The right answer would have been: No ma'am he is not Arab he is an American citizen. If you mean by Arab being Muslim well what difference does it make. America includes many different religions and there are people who don't believe in any religion. Just because one is not Christian does not mean that he or she is not trustworthy or cannot become president of the United States of America.

That would have been the right answer not because it is politically correct but because it is the correct one which is true to the constitution of this country.

Here's a good article I recommend.

www.juancole.com/2008/10/mccain-obama-decent-no-arab.html

Every time that I make the statement that I do not support either Obama or McCain, people look at me somewhat puzzled and then comes the question: "Are you gonna vote?"

Of course I am going to vote. I am just not going to vote for either Obama or McCain. Some would say "you are throwing your vote away" because only one of the two will win and therefore any vote cast for somebody else is a waste. I am sorry to offend anyone who thinks this way but this is sheer stupidity. Voting is not a game that we get to play in November. Our votes have real impact on our lives and should not be taken lightly. If we are disenchanted with the reality of the political system then it is our responsibility to do everything we can to change it. We do not change it by accepting the canard that the two parties want us to believe. They are the ones who have been in power for so very long and who have lead us to the reality of today.

Our responsibility as voters if we want our democracy to work is first of all to get informed and to think critically by questionning those who are in power and who come to us during election times to request our votes. We have to realize that we are the ones who decide and we are the ones who actually hold the power because we are the ones who actually get to cast the vote. Unfortunately in the US we have an ignorant electorate (no offence intended I use ignorant not as an insult but in the sense of uninformed or misinformed). The coporate media holds the key when we solely rely on information provided by the handful of corporations which control all of the major media outlets in this country. Their interests are not generally consistent with the demands of a true democracy and dissemination of truthful information. Their interests are in maximizing profit and getting an ever increasing share of the market and therefore any action which does not serve this purpose is simply not undertaken or even contemplated. Those corporations will only serve a system which allows them to realize their fundamental purpose "the bottom line". If the voters are looking for real information on TV or by reading mainstream newspapers they are getting only a partial picture and often a distorted one. Getting informed requires going beyond the headlines, reading between the lines and seeking alternative sources, Democracy is hard work.

After getting informed, our responsibilty as voters is to choose what is best--or we think is best--for our country. We should cast our votes for those who we think will help us, the people as individuals and collectively, realize our potential and our hopes in leading a decent prosperous life for ourselves and future generations. The choices offered to us during election times should be real choices and our votes should be votes we actually whoheartedly defend and be proud of. The choice should not be one of choosing the lesser of two evils. Our vote should not be a negative one as in voting against a candidate but a positive one as in voting for someone or something. This is a vote that actually counts in my view, all the others are wasted because they do not contribute to bringing change on the contrary, they only perpetuate the negativity and maintain the status quo.

Yes I am going to vote like I always do. However, I am not going to hold my nose and cast a ballot for someone I do not agree with when there is a candidate on the ballot who I happen to agree with wholeheartedly. I will not vote the two party system when I believe that such a system leads to corruption and to the abuse of power.

Yes I am going to vote for Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente the Green Party candidates. Among those candidates on the ballot, they and the party platform are the closest to my true beliefs. They are the alternative and the real change from politics as usual. They are the antidote to the status quo of corporate dominated political system--otherwise known as fascism. They are the real voice for true change not just a facelift.

www.mckinney2008.com/PRESIDENT
gp.org/platform/2004/democracy.html#310677
votetruth08.com/index.php/learn/mckinney-truth-squad

Press Release

Gaza Welcomes SS Dignity

29.10.2008

Once again, 27 activists from 13 nations-- including doctors, lawyers, teachers, and human rights advocates-- have arrived in Gaza from Cyprus, united in their determination to break the criminal Israeli siege and shed light on the suffering of the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. They intend to deliver medical supplies, meet with civil society organizations, and volunteer in hospitals.

The One Democratic State Group commends this courageous step taken by the Free Gaza Movement and extends an open invitation to Amre Mousa, the Secretary General of the Arab League, to join the next trip to Gaza.

One passenger, Mairead Maguire, the winner of the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize, stated: "The people of Gaza are part of our human family. The Israeli government cannot cut off Gaza forever. We will come again and again until we reach our family. We go to visit our family, and the Israeli government has no right to stop us."The UN has called the situation in Gaza a humanitarian disaster, but the inhumanity goes on. More than 255 terminally ill people have already died as a result of this medieval siege imposed on 1.5 million civilians.

We in Gaza and the One Democratic State group take heart from this courageous mission by ordinary people from all corners of the globe. Dr. Haidar Eid from Gaza stated 'Their brave and direct action will remind the world of our incarceration and force the eyes of the world to look in our direction once more. We were happy at their safe arrival and thank them for their amazing action."

Once again, we reiterate our call on international civil society organizations to take similar actions as governments and multilateral organizations have stood by silently, and worse, even supported the barbaric Israeli siege on Gaza's 1.5 million people. We know that if we remain steadfast - and with the support of freedom loving - some day soon, thousands of boats will reach our shores.

The One Democratic State Group

www.odsg.org/co

onedemocraticstategroup@gmail.com

Greens respond to a slanderous attack by lawyer Alan Dershowitz

against the Green Party and its position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:

Monday, October 27, 2008

Contacts:

Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator

202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org

Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator

916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

WASHINGTON, DC -- The co-chairs of the Green Party's International Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/intl) have responded to an attack by Alan Dershowitz against the Green Party and its position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The text of the response follows below

On October 12, Mr. Dershowitz, a prominent attorney, published an op-ed column in The Daily News (New York) titled "Both Barack Obama and John McCain are true friends of Israel ..." ( http://tinyurl.com/4b42hv ).

In his column, Mr. Dershowitz accused the Green Party and Green presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney of anti-Semitism and endorsed elections limited to two political parties.

Greens noted that Mr. Dershowitz has promoted 'torture warrants' to permit torture of individuals when a threat to US is detected, a position he shares with the Israeli government. The use of torture has been categorically rejected by numerous military, intelligence, and legal experts because of humane concerns, international laws and treaties, unreliability as a method for obtaining information, and because torture would place US military personnel and other Americans at risk of similar treatment in retaliation.

Justine McCabe and Julia Willebrand submitted the Green response to the Daily News' editorial department, which declined to publish it. The response was embargoed until last week to give the Daily News first right of publication.

It Isn't Easy Being Green

By Justine McCabe and Julia Willebrand

Co-Chairs, International Committee, Green Party of the United States

http://www.gp.org/committees/intl/

http://www.gp.org

Presidential election years aren't easy for those of us in parties outside the Democratic and Republican mainstream. Shut out of the national debates and most media coverage, our ideas seldom get a fair hearing, even though most Americans agree with us. But worse than no coverage is when our policies are dismissed, not on their merit or the facts, but by slander.

Case in point: a recent Daily News column by Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz. Known for his unwavering support of Israel, Dershowitz isn't merely content to ban Palestinians from the public discussion on the Middle East conflict. He uses name-calling to drown out any voices in this election except those of the established parties -- the two parties whose foreign policies have led to international animosity against the US.

Dershowitz epitomizes those who believe that any criticism of the state of Israel or its actions constitutes anti-Semitism. What they call anti-Semitism in the Green Party's national platform is actually adherence to international law, observance of human rights for all Palestinians and Israelis, and support for a nonviolent negotiated resolution to the conflict (www.gp.org/platform/2004/democracy.html#310677)

The Green Party takes no campaign contributions from AIPAC, its rightwing allies, or the oil industry. Unlike Democrats and Republicans, who accept such money, Greens condemn all violence against unarmed civilians, whether by Palestinians or Israelis, whether through the use of American-made F-16's or Caterpillar bulldozers. We oppose military aid to Israel and Arab countries. Unlike Barack Obama and John McCain, Greens have deplored Israel's violation of over 60 UN Security Council resolutions against collective punishment, confiscation of Palestinian land and illegal settlement by 400,000 Israeli colonists, and demolition of over 10,000 Palestinian homes. We continue to oppose Israel's violations of human rights that are recognized as universal by the international community: the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and the right of self-determination.

Ironically, unlike the Israeli press, the US media have tolerated little discussion on the issue. Otherwise, Americans would know that the Green position is shared by people like South Africa's Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the Irish public sector union IMPACT, the British National Union of Journalists--all of whom recognize the apartheid-like conditions in Israel and the Occupied Territories and have endorsed a boycott to insist that Israel dismantle them (http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2005_11_28.shtml).

Dershowitz repeats accusations, lies, and distortions that have been leveled against former Democratic congresswoman and now Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney because of her principled positions and her refusal to take orders from AIPAC -- a lobby for a foreign government -- and its allies. However, he gets one thing correct: Obama and McCain have expressed the same uncritical support for the government of Israel and its actions, which guarantees no hope of peaceful resolution in the next administration, regardless of which candidate wins the White House. Why not just toss a coin instead of holding an election?

In the end, so eager are apologists like Dershowitz to shut down real debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other vital topics that they would limit the political field and banish "extremist" alternative parties. In fact, alternative parties have introduced such extremist ideas as abolition of slavery, women's right to vote, the 8-hour workday, and Social Security. The Green Party is here to remind Americans that unequivocal support for Israel's actions is a corruption of American values like justice and equality before the law -- values that most Americans still hold dear.

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org