how they treat homosexuals in the philipines.

i think this is an interesting topic to follow after my last one.

it all goes back to the live and let live mentality. one of the first questions i asked the locals here was how do they treat gay people. i ask because before coming here i knew that cross dressed and homosexuals are quite out in the open here compared to other less developed countries, or maybe even compared to anywhere else i have visited (minus san fran? haha)

the first person i had this convo with was a nun. yes, a nun.

appearently people here are really accepting of the choices people make and they believe that letting people have the freedom to live their lives is more important than religion. please keep in mind that i am talking about a country that is 95% catholic. this is a country where jesus is name dropped on the regular and where kids pray in school everyday until highschool. the catholicism here is no joke, and its not just image or purely culture.

however, walking the streets i see cross dressed men holding the hands of other gay men EVERYDAY. i think whats sad is how suprised i am. i think i have seen so much homophobia that i have sort of expect people to in all societies to be ignorant. not here though. i don't if its kindness or what. i think it might be the philosophy of just letting people live their lives.

thats not to say that people here encourage their children or friends to be gay. no, not at all. they don't prefer it. they would rather not have it, but when they have it, they treat it well. families rarely if ever disown their children for their sexual orientation here. i am not claiming what i write here are facts. its simply the most i have learned and the most i know. i could be completely wrong, but this is what im getting from the locals.

i have also been told that one reason the families get along so well if someone in their family is queer is because the one who is queer tries extra hard to please the family. they may be the hardest working in the family, to earn the family money to support them in order to gain their acceptance. of course this is far from perfect. we should accept everyone for who they are and not put them in position where they have to put in an extra effort to gain acceptance for something that should never be accepted in the first place. nonetheless, i feel like the way gay people are treated in this society is leaps and bounds above most others in the world, regardless of its imperfections.

cross dressers hold eachothers hands here and walk through busy streets and no one looks twice or makes a peep. they hold their heads up proud, and walk with strength. children in highschool and university have gay friends, and it seems like they are a lot more accepted here than in the other 22 countries i have been to. this must mean something. i think the world has a lot to learn from the philipinos in regards to humility. and all of this in a place which is strongly religious. you have to have a lot of respect and admiration for this school of thought.

i really want to write more on this, with better thought and greater detail to try to help u understand me better but i cant. the biggest reason, and im not joking about this, is that im in an internet cafe and have had about 10 teenage boys looking over my shoulder, rubbing against my back, and sitting next to me as i have typed this. try to imagine how nerve wracking that is, especially when typing about such a topic. pardon my lack of clearity!

i just leave you with one suggestion if you read this whole thing: think about how terrible it is that we have come to expect hate and arrogance to the point that often time we are surprised by acceptance and humility.

peace and love,

ytk

i have never slept with so many jesuses watching me.

today was a pretty cool day. i visited 4 nursery and kindergarten classes and yes; the kids ARE absolutely adorable. when i put up the pics next week you will surely agree. the last of the cameras were handed out to them (1 per class) and i hope that a bit of their young lives will be captured this way.

so 6 hours later i found myself absolutely beat. i decided to take a little nap. i laid down and stared at the ceiling a little bit. then i looked around. amongst the furniture are little statues, some old, faded family photos, and other small pleasant things. it was not the first time i saw all of this, but it was the first time that i realized the following: never have i been surrounded by so many jesus christ statues and photographs. seriously. there are more crosses here than a red cross convention! off the top of my head, in the small piece of ground that i sleep which is no bigger than 6 feet by 4 feet there must be at least...... 10 to 15 jesus shout outs. in the entire house there is probably.... 50 jesus reminders. keep in mind that the space is TINY. seriously, its a super small place.

when i first arrived here i was kind of overwhelmed by how strong religion is here,. i think compared to all the places i have been, its most religious here. or maybe the people i have met have just happened to have a strong sense of religion. a realization i had though is that its really more culture than religion, and its quite humbling to say the least. it has a certain beauty to it. im not sure how to explain it, but i think its nice. yes, im still a car holding atheist. hahaha

the people are just really nice in general. in other places i have traveled people stare at you or yell things to you because your foreign (not really bad things though). here though, there i have noticed that there is a real live and let live mentality. i obviously look VERY different from everyone here, and no one thinks im a local, but they dont make me stand out which is very refreshing. everyone is very politce, and generally quiet. all in all the people are very kind and sweet. seriously. i know i talk highly of people in all the places i visit, but there is somehting very unique about Philipino people that i have not seen elsewhere. even the children are super shy and quiet. in other places i get bombarded with children. right away they call out to me, grab my hand and clothes, and try to get my attention. here, i can barely get eye contact from the kids. of course, this is until i break the ice! today the kids were being super shy, but a few funny faces and some children's games later (hand slapping games are ALWAYS a hit, everywhere in the world i learn more and more) they would not leave my side! i cant wait to go back to their class tomo. suddenly i have dozens of little friends! I really can't wait to see how the photos turn out....

p and l,

ytk

a big taste of africa in a small philippino community

what a day.... WHAT A DAY!

it began with breakfast. the coconut jam here is to die for. so simple, yet easily thebest jam in the world. ya i said it!

oh i forgot what i did before that. i showered. it was most likely the most humble shower ive had in a long, long time. it was a bucket shower. ive sort of done this before in japan but it was pretty much spa therapy there. here though, in navotas where im staying, its much diff. i figured id embrace it though because all experiences are good experiences. so there i stood naked in a walled off area 2 feet by 3 feet wide and i proceeded to pore buckets of cold water over my head. there was no ceiling directly above me, but there was a crack in the wall where light came in. the water was dam cold, but when in rome....

oh and i made a friend in that small place. i should have given him a name and taught him tricks. it was a giant cockroach. man... in such a small, cozy space u sure do notice every little, or in this case big, thing. my gut instinct said "make a loud yelping sound" but my brain said "do your best not to look a big, naked panzy". instinct came out victorious.... THIS time.

im staying with a family here who is beyond kind. they are so sweet, and so giving, and i dont know how i got so blessed to even end up here, let alone with such good people. my living is not luxorious. i wont go into details, but when usee the picutres, you'll see. its essentially like a shack, however, even poorer housing exists here. its like a squatter home, but i love it. its a home, and i cant appreciate it and more importantly its inhabitants enough.

at about 10am i visited a school ran by the organization im starting the new peace and love project with. here is the skinny of what i did there

-talked to 62 student from highschool to university
-learned about their educational needs and desired
-learned about their life goals and how what they think would help them achieve their goals
-got details about their school fees, from pencils to library costs and far beyond

5 pages of notes later i rolled out the project. i brought with my 62 disposable cameras and i gave the students one each, or some of the doubled up with partnersas we did not have enough cameras for them all. i told them to capture their lives as if they could show the world how they live, how their community is, and what they are passionate about.

one thing i learned while talking to them about their educational goals was that computer usage fees, internet, and printing were very expensive but also neededdaily. i told them i would try to raise money for them to build a computer centre for them to use year round. i amconfident this will go a long way in empowering their educational efforts. details on this will come soon. thiswill be a magical project. you will see!

after a delicicous home made meal we headed off the heart of the slums, only 2 minutes away by foot. my god. MY GOD!


there was filth everywhere. shacks were made on top of other shacks. as i sneaked by in the narrow allies, often only 2 or 3 feet wide, i sometimes found myself in complete darkness as the shacks covered off all light.

naked children were everywhere.

garbage was the ground i walked on.

i honestly felt like i was back in the slums of africa. some may argue it was worse here.

people lives on top of tombstones. im not kidding. imagine 6 bodies burried on top of eachother in cement tomb stones, and then shacks built on top with 5 person families living inside an area that is 10 feet by 6 feet. wait for the pictures and video. your mind will be blown.

after seeing this massive slum, i am more determined than ever to build this computer centre. i fully heartedly believe that the best possible way to possibly break the cycle of poverty is through education and this computer centre, built purely for the student to do research, study, and do their assignments on will serve this educational goal.

im sorry if things seem vague in this post. its so hot here, i have been walking around all day, talking to city councilors and community leaders in order to learn more about the needs they have in hopes that i can try to help and address any of them i can, and simply put, im beat. i do promise though that i will write indetail about this community and the peace and love project which will be put into place here.

one beautiful thing is that peace and love will be doing here what the people want us to do. we never impose our beliefs, but rather work with locals to help they gain what they want. they wanted computer access. they believed it would help them with their education, and thus help them with their bigger life goals. now we will try to deliver this to them by sharing their story with whoever we can in order to gain support. these people are empowering themselves. peace and love will only act as a middle person for them sharing their story. really, there art the ones making an international plea, and luckily we, peace and love international, have a means to help make their voices heard.

i feel like my thoughts are so scattered right now. im so tired. i should stop typing. i feel like im sounding stupid and not making sense so ill leave on the following note: the amazing people that i have met here have shown me how they want to empowered. i will now do all that i can to help them empower themselves, and if today's progress was any indication of how the rest of this project will go then i can say with full confidence that success is only a few photos away.

peace and love,

ytk

maybe the best flight ive ever had?

what a day. there are few simple things in life that make me happier than traveling. i adore it, fully and truly. before getting into the terminal area its a lot of stress... i never have my stuff packed on time, even after all the trips ive taken, and i always feel like security wont let me through. i thank the american media for making me scared of myself! hahaha

however, as soon as my bags are checked im in heaven. im in heaven right now, listening to soft melodies in the background as i type away at a yahoo sponsored net cafe in narita airport in japan. i really missed this country. i stand by what ive always said: everyone has to love japan. there truly is something for everyone, and its hard to not love it here. it funny revisited the bathroom. oh man.... lets just say spraying is KING! anyone whos been reading here for a while knows EXACTLY what im talking about.

i had a great flight from vancouver to tokyo. i took a sleeping pill 30 minutes into the 9.5 hour flight. nada.

so what do i decide to do? drink on top of it to make it kick in. 1 beer down.

nada.

lets mix some saki into the equation.

nada.

i can drag this out but lets just say ive been seriously sleep deprived for at least 2 days before this trip, took the pill on a somewhat empty stomach, didnt eat on the plane because nothing was vegan, and did manage to drink 3 beers and 4 bottles of saki. NO SLEEP! I thought id at least call into a coma, but not. did i get drunk though? heck ya! maybe thats why its one of the best flight ive had. its for sure the drunkest. haha seriously though, the service was second to none! fly japan airline: you wont regret it!

i also made a friend on the flight which really made my day. her name is Su. shes from my neck of woods in Canada. we hit it off great! we really connected and learned a lot about eachother, and she told me the world about herself. here are some facts about Su: she was flying to taiwan for a pychology gathering (patient), she has 4 sons, and when i asked how old she was she answered, with a straight face, "older than 49"....

shes a really great woman. ironically her ex husband was iranian. he was a dirt bag, mistreated her, mentally abused her, and tried to turn her children against her, at which he has some success... surprise surprise he was like that hey? she is a really cool woman to talk to though. she called herself a "banana", when in reality you would think she was right out of china from her accent and how she dressed. she also made me laugh when she told me her sons took after their middle eastern genes via their "unibrows" and "smelliness when they sweat". wow... haha

i gave her my food and snaks as i wouldnt eat the animal products, and she ordered booze for me because it wouldnt have looked too hot if i was hoarding every bottle of saki and can of Asari on the place. we seriously got along really well. 2 hours into our 9 hour flight i found her asking me for advice on how to deal with her husband, sons, and other general worries she had in regards to these people in her life. the poor woman was really hurt badly by hey ex. he sounded like the kind of psychotic control freak that you wouldnt wish even on your enemies. he really wrecked her, and worst of all, did a good job of making her look like a terrible person to her children through some really evils means that children would fall for due to lack of life experience. my heart goes out to her. i look forward to seeing her again back in canada. she will be my first "older than 49" chinese-"bananda"-but-seems-totally-chinese-mother-of-four-half-iriannian-kids friend! someone give me the accronym for that: ill miss my flight if i try to write it out myself.

after i sent her on her way to taiwan i spent some time in the airport and found a free net cafe sponsored by yahoo. thats where i am now. everything has been going smoothly so far (knocks on wood). i havent let the 62 disposable cameras going through the xrays though, making ppl hand check them, which in turns makes me every airport security persons most anooying and suspecious traveler... meh

i gotta hop on a plane to manila now. cant wait for tomorrow!

peace and love,

YTK

Posted by Yashar

"A gift I gave my mother today which she should have given me 23 years ago"

My mom came home today after going out for a short walk with her sister. I let her get settled in and then I asked her to come and sit beside me on the couch where I had been thinking for the last hour or two. I motioned her towards me and I gave her a kiss on the check then told her that I have a present for her. It’s not her birthday. November 1^st has never been a day of celebration for any reason in our family before. Thus, she sat there smiling, and instead of asking “what’s the present” she asked “why”?

“Because you deserve it” I replied.

“Why do I deserve it?” she asked again.

“Because it’s right” I told her.

She sat there for a few seconds, smiling, happy that she was about to receive a gift, and anxious to know what it was.

I gave her the present. It came in the form of a piece of scrap paper I found. The back of it was blank. She turned it around to see what her present was.

She read what I had written on it. It was 3 words and below it was today’s date, November 1^st 2009.

She kept on reading the 3 words.

She looked happy and relaxed, but a little bit confused.

I think she read these 3 words for about half a minute or more, trying to figure it out.

No, it wasn’t “I love you”.

When she finally understood what I had written, she read it out loud and then said “It’s nice, but why?”

“Because you deserve it mom. It shouldn’t be any other way”

“It’s very nice, but I don’t need it. I love your father so much that even though it’s his, I know that it’s also mine”

“I know, but now I have both. Isn’t that great? I have both. If anything, I’m more you than him. I literally came from you, so the least I can do is have both.”

She sat there for a moment, quietly, reading the paper over again, smiling. She finally leaned over and gave me another kiss on the cheek. She loved it. I think her heart smiled.

The words on the scrap pieces of paper were my name. Well, it was my name as it should have been from the begging, and will be from now on. The piece of paper read “Yashar Taheri-Keramati” and it was the first time I had ever written it on paper. I must have been confused all these years: I had mistakenly written my name as “Yashar Keramati” for 23 years, taking only my father’s last name, unconsciously. My mother’s family name is Taheri. I felt it was appropriate to give this piece of paper to my mom. My dad has seen his last name written by me, as my name, for the last 23 years.

This change for me came from a thought I had today: why should my family name only be my father’s? My family that my name refers to should be my mom and my dad’s. They are most immediately responsible for creating me, so why have one and not the other. Of course, I know where this practice came from: patriarchy. For my culture, as with most cultures that only carry the father’s name, the children carry the name of their father because it believed, though entirely false, that the father is the superior parent. He is the head of the family. The children are more his, than their mothers’. He is more prominent. He is the keeper of the family and holds the most power. I couldn’t have any of this, even though this extreme is not the case in my family. It wasn’t right, and it’s against my morals as a conscious human being. Anyone who even vaguely knows me knows that I’m a proud feminist and resent patriarchy and sexism. Sure, it has been this way for many, many years, but ought we not make things right today, regardless of it having been wrong yesterday, and every day before that for a very long time? Even if we say that this is something minor and that it’s not a big deal, shouldn’t we do what’s right, if we know it’s right and are capable of doing something about it, if for nothing else, then purely for the sake of doing what’s right? This small unmerited gesture that I carried around every day, in the form of my name, for me was a representative of supporting a patriarchal system of identity, and that is not right for me.

Our mothers birth us. They physically bring us out of their bodies and this is after 9 months of kicking around while they carry us around in pain. They feed us, clean us, teach us, nurture us, love us, and in turn, make us grow as people, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Maybe I am being too general and this doesn’t always happen, so let me specify: MY mother has done all these things for me, lifetimes over, and much, much more. Surely the least I can do for a person who has in so many ways made me who I am and shaped my identity is include her in a part of my own identity that I use so often in the shape of my name. I do it for my father who has equally shaped me to be who I am, and he deserves it too, so is it not rational to do this for my mother as well? I ought to as a decent, thinking individual. I have now, and I will continue to do so from now on.

Yashar Taheri-Keramati

Obama? Really, Nobel? Really? What a sham. The likes of Mandela, Tutu, Ghandi, Ebadi, Teresa, and King gave their lives to peace, and then Obama gets it after 10 months of being in office? What a joke! What has Obama done, other than fart rhetorical clouds of hope, change, butterflies and unicorns? What happened to closing Guantanimo within 100 days of being in office? What happened to pulling troops out of Iraq? Why are there plans to put more troops in Afghanistan? How about Palestine? Talk is cheap. Forget "Hope". Its all HYPE.

I LOVE DESMUND TUTU!

Some people don't learn from apartheid, or the Holocaust.

Archbishop Tutu to Haaretz: Arabs paying for Germany's crimes

By Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondent

Tags: Palestinians, Desmond Tutu

"The lesson that Israel must learn from the Holocaust is that it can never get security through fences, walls and guns," Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu of South Africa told Haaretz Thursday. Commenting on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement in Germany Thursday that the lesson of the Holocaust is that Israel should always defend itself, Tutu noted that "in South Africa, they tried to get security from the barrel of a gun. They never got it. They got security when the human rights of all were recognized and respected." The Nobel Prize laureate spoke to Haaretz in Jerusalem as the organization The Elders concluded its tour of Israel and the West Bank. He said the West was consumed with guilt and regret toward Israel because of the Holocaust, "as it should be." Advertisement "But who pays the penance? The penance is being paid by the Arabs, by the Palestinians. I once met a German ambassador who said Germany is guilty of two wrongs. One was what they did to the Jews. And now the suffering of the Palestinians." He also slammed Jewish organizations in the United States, saying they intimidate anyone who criticizes the occupation and rush to accuse these critics of anti-Semitism. Tutu recalled how such organizations pressured U.S. universities to cancel his appearances on their campuses. "That is unfortunate, because my own positions are actually derived from the Torah. You know God created you in God's image. And we have a God who is always biased in favor of the oppressed." Tutu also commented on the call by Ben-Gurion University professor Neve Gordon to apply selective sanctions on Israel. "I always say to people that sanctions were important in the South African case for several reasons. We had a sports boycott, and since we are a sports-mad country, it hit ordinary people. It was one of the most psychologically powerful instruments. "Secondly, it actually did hit the pocket of the South African government. I mean, when we had the arms embargo and the economic boycott." He said that when F.W. de Klerk became president he telephoned congratulations. "The very first thing he said to me was 'well now will you call off sanctions?' Although they kept saying, oh well, these things don't affect us at all. That was not true. "And another important reason was that it gave hope to our people that the world cared. You know. That this was a form of identification." Earlier in the day, Tutu and the rest of the delegation visited the village of Bil'in, where protests against the separation fence, built in part on the village's land, take place every week. "We used to take our children in Swaziland and had to go through border checkpoints in South Africa and face almost the same conduct, where you're at the mercy of a police officer. They can decide when they're going to process you and they can turn you back for something inconsequential. But on the other hand, we didn't have collective punishment. We didn't have the demolition of homes because of the suspicion that one of the members of the household might or might not be a terrorist." He said the activists in Bil'in reminded him of Ghandi, who managed to overthrow British rule in India by nonviolent means, and Martin Luther King, Jr., who took up the struggle of a black woman who was too tired to go to the back of a segregated bus. He stressed his belief that no situation was hopeless, praising the success of the Northern Irish peace process. The process was mediated by Senator George Mitchell, who now serves as the special U.S. envoy to the Middle East. Asked about the controversy in Petah Tikva, where several elementary schools have refused to receive Ethiopian school children, Tutu said that "I hope that your society will evolve."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1110762.html

I Can't remember the last time I wanted to cry while watching my computer screen, but I held back tears today.

In fact, I almost never cry. If I hadn't held back today though, I would have broken than trend. Sometimes you just really feel for other people's pain when you're really pushed to get attached to them and their suffering. I love documentaries, and most of the ones I watch are on big world topics. This time I watched one on a small, North American family and it seriously broke my heart. So gut wrentching. I won't spoil it for you though. I highly recommend watching it. I am not sure why. Maybe its because it makes you feel human. I don't know. If you watch it, and you recommend it to others, let me know why you did.


Synopsis: A filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.

Links to watch it:
http://www.watch-movies-links.net/movies/dear_zachary_a_letter_to_a_son_about_his_father/

My thoughts on what is happening in Iran: Mousavi, Obama, and revolution.

For those of you who have been reading this shabby little blog for a while, you will remember that less than two years ago I had 2 of my academic essays on Iranian politics published. Since that time I have tried to stay on top of the countries politics.

What is happening in Iran right now is very powerful, but nonetheless, not very new. It was only a few years ago that university students rose up, only to be beaten and killed, much like they are being beaten and killed now. However, what is different is that the magnitude of disobedience and rebellion is completely new. Not since 1979 have Irians rose up with such power. The most significant aspect of the current outcry for freedom is going against the Ayatollah's word. Ayatollah Khamenei is Iran's supreme leader. He truly rules Iran, and no matter who is elected, he has the final say. Do not take the title "supreme leader" lightly. He has the final say on EVERYTHING. That is why its very special that the people of Iran continued to protest regardless of his order for them to stop. This is very encouraging.

There are some local and global players which we have to pay attention to with this issue. The obvious local one is Mousavi. the opposition leader. Quite frankly, I don't care for him. He is the lesser of two evils in my eye. He is another religious politician who has a strong hand in the Islamification of Iran. I do not believe that if he has won the election straight out that anything significant would happen to the lives of Iranians. The women may have had a few more rights, but still they would be deprived of most of them. Iran would stay a religious dictatorship under the Ayatollahs rule: this is unacceptable. This being said, we ought not view Mousavi as a great leader, but we must recognize that he has become, due to his victimization in the election, the symbol for fighting back against the powers that be in Iran. This is very valuable, and he ought to be used as a way out of the dictatorship for Iranians. He should, however, be the next leader of Iran. The next leader of Iran should be one who is democratically elected, unlike Mousavi who was one of only four Iranians allowed to run in the election. If it so happens that Iran has truly free elections and all who wish to run are allowed to run do indeed run and Mousavi wins, then I fully accept him as Iran's leader. This I don't think would ever happen though. I support the uprising full heatedly and hope it turns into a full out revolution, but I do not support Mousavi. I support a recount for the sake of spitting in the face of the corrupt government, but I would not be pleased with any of the candidates winning because they are all hand picked pawns of the supreme leader, some being worse than others. Mousavi is the best of the worst.

The global leader we should be local at is Obama. I have condemned Obama's policies many times and have said that he too is not much better than those who came before him (read the blog for those posts). However, I have to admit that he is doing a fantastic job on the Iran issue: he is staying out of it! This is unprecedented and fantastic! One of my published essays proved that whenever America supports on group in Iran, then they lose legitimacy due to distrust and dislike towards the U.S. To be supported by the U.S within Iran, even if you are a reformist, is a distaster. When the students rose up years ago, the U.S announced its support for them, and all of a sudden Iranian's opinion of the students shifted suddenly. They were seen almost as foreign agitators all of a sudden. There is serious stigma towards the U.S, and I assure you if the U.S started openly and strongly supporting those in the uprising, the movement would lose much of its momentum and make many enemies. My hat is off to Obama for staying out of this.

All in all, I hope these protests lead to full out revolution. Blood will sadly be spilled, but if it bring about freedom in Iran, then it will be worth it. Few revolutions are bloodless. Iran desperately needs to be free. Since the coup against Mossadegh which gave the Shah of Iran a dictator, Iran has not been free. The Islamic Revolution only made things worse. The next revolution, when it comes, has to be one to sit Iran free from its tyrannic past governments. Iran needs a fresh start. I only hope all of this amazing energy and bravery in Iran, all the blood lost and people abused, is not in vain. I do not support any Iranian political sanctioned by the supreme leader, but I support any Iranian who fights against the religious dictorship. Here is to those rising up today will be in our children's history books as the people who freed Iran.

Peace & Love,

Yash

Iranian Women's Rights? Isn't that an oxymoron?

Maybe... just maybe not for long! I was reading the news today and it turns out of the 4 candidates (allowed to run in the election. ya... allowed.) is pushing hard for women's rights. I was shocked. I have never heard of a move this big in Iranian elections, and if he does win, and actually does follow through with his rhetoric, it would be incredible. Thought I would share these strong words:

Iran candidate Mousavi backs women's rights

Women chanted against morality police at the Mousavi campaign event

Presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi has vowed to review laws that discriminate against women in Iran if he wins an upcoming election.

Watched by his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, Mr Mousavi told an audience of female supporters in Tehran: "We should reform laws that are unfair to women."

Patrols of so-called "morality police" regularly enforce standards of Islamic dress on Iran's streets.

Mr Mousavi, a reformist former PM, says he would seek to disband the force.

As Ms Rahnavard spoke, many in the crowd shouted protests against the morality police, who regularly arrest women they deem inappropriately dressed.

"We should prepare the ground for an Iran where women are treated without discrimination," the AFP news agency reported her as saying.

"We should reform laws that treat women unequally. We should empower women financially, women should be able to choose their professions according to their merits, and Iranian women should be able to reach the highest level of decision making bodies."

Challenger

Mir-Hossein Mousavi said he would put forward a bill to amend laws judged to be at odds with the spirit of Iran's constitution, in particular "discriminatory and unjust regulations" against women.

He also voiced his support for those campaigning for women's rights and pledged new legal measures to help end violence against women.

Correspondents consider Mr Mousavi the main reformist challenger to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , who is seeking another term.

He is one of four candidates approved to run in the country's president election, to be held on 12 June.

Mr Mousavi served as prime minister during the years of the Iran-Iraq war from 1980-1988.

The other candidates are a former head of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, Mohsen Rezai, and Mehdi Karroubi who was a speaker of parliament and is considered a reformist.

Women's rights are an emotive issue, with both Zahra Rahnavard and the wife of his rival Mehdi Karroubi taking an active role on the campaign trail.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8075603.stm

Pouring one out for my dead homie, the former dictator of Nicaragua...

I want to write about one of the most interesting drinking experiences I have ever had. Those who have been following this blog for a whole will remember such drinking experiences like the club full of businessmen and prostitutes in Kenya or the bar in the Congo where a woman tried to sell me a baby guerilla. The experience I had a couple of nights ago takes the prize for most historical.

It was about 2 am and all the clubs were shut down as it was a Tuesday. We were with a local who we befriended and he said he knew of a cool after party place. These after parties are big all over Central America as cops shut down clubs very liberally. We go with him to the place.

After knocking on a small, metal door a sleepy looking man opens it and after inspecting us a bit with his eyes finally lets us in. We walk through a dark hallway and arrive in a big, open, run down court yard. It looked like at its prime it was a grand place but now it was stripped of even the paint on the walls. All that was there were two plastic tables and some lawn chairs. The place was a big, open air dump with beautiful victorian columns all around. It had potential to be a place of importance- Turns out it once was...

The local started telling me about the place.

¨This is where he was shot¨

¨Who was shot...¨ I asked.

¨The old dictator of Nicaragua¨

I was stunned. I was drinking beer in the very place where the old president was assasinated, which gave way to a massive and brual civil war that claimed thousands of innocent lives and left behind even more scars.

The buildng used to be the biggest, richest hang out for the elites. Hell, El Presidente was getting down there before he got capped! I could not believe it at first though. I thought he was pulling my leg. He told me to walk into a far corner of the place and see for myself. When I did, I saw about a dozen informative, musuem like displays of the civil war, and the national hero who killed the president. At the spot where he was shot stoof a massive poster of the assasin. I looked at the walls and noticed how their were bullet holes everywhere. It all started coming together.

i felt guilty being there though. Who was I to be able t experience such a thing_ Why wasn´t the place closed off as just a musuem. I felt like I was too lucky to be able to experience that. It was a really cool night and i was fortunate enough to be that close to the history of a country as interesting as Nicaragua. I don´t think I´ll forget that night anytime soon.

Volcanos: great for boarding down, terrible for eating.

Today I went volcano boarding. Yup, its exactly what it sounds like. I went to an active volcano called Cerra Negra and man did I get my ass handed to me!

We hiked up it for about 45 minutes. It was short but hard because it was really hot and it was hard not to slip.

The view was breath taking though. Knowing that you are on an active volcano that is over due for erupting is kind of awesome too! I touched the ground at one point and it was burning hot. I loved the view. Easily my favorite part was the view...

When we finally made it up there we put on these orange jump suits, goggles, and got on these heavy home made boards that we had been carrying the whole time. You sit up them and go. The record is 80 km per hour. I dont know what my time was. On bike the record is 180 km. Its nuts!

I started going down really fast but somehow I stopped. I dont know why it happened but it was bummer. I picked up speed again and finally made it down. By the end of it I was coooooovered in lava sand. I spat so many rocks out of my mouth. I just got home and showered and i´m still picking rocks out of my nose and ears. It was nuts!

Good day... good day. Now on to street food and beers!

1 days completely gone to waste and $120 gone, I remind myself why I travel alone.

When I tell people I am going backpacking I´m often jokingly ask to take them with me. Sometimes its great to travel with others, but sometimes, and in my thinkig more often than not, its better to travel alone. Get ready to hear how I had a nicely planned day go to waste, and what loving and respecting your mother will do to you.

I left El Salvador at 7 am. I got up at 6 because it was so hot. It was Saturday and I really wanted to party that night with the locals in a big city. Anyone who knows me knowsn how much I love partying, so since I only have 2 weekends on the entire trip I was eager to party.

I, with an English dude named Ed set off for Nicaragua as he was going there too. I didnt mind going with him on the same route cause its not like we were going to spend the night together (hint... foreshadowing). We got along well and I helped him out with his luggage at every bus stop.

We made it to Honduras just fine and we were on route to be in Nic by 6pm... perfect timing for a weekend pre drink!

As we cross into Nicuragua I noticed and older looking blonde white woman. I pay no attension to her and go on.

I wait there for my bus to leave. I went to grad some food at one point and the the women approaches me and asks if I speak English. I said yes. And so it begun...

She is about 50ish giv or take 5 years I think. She tells me she wants to get her camper into the country and cant because they wont accept travelers cheques and she cantd cash them for 2 days cause its the weekend. cost: $45. she was stuck at the borded till then. She asked me if i can go talk to them in spanish and I said no. Immediately though I said I would lend her $50 so she can get in and on.

She accepted immediately and said she would wire me the money. I said it wasnt important. I wasn´t about to let a women who was seemingly a bit dissoriented and quite vulnerable be stuck in a place like that on her own. She asked where I was going and I said Nic. She was going further South to Costa Rica and asked if I wanted a ride cause she was lonely anyway and wanted someone to talk to. Turns out she was from Vancouver too and drove from there. Her plates confirmed this. I politely said yes and thank you. YAY! I WAS GONNA SAVE $5.... oh how wrong was I...

Her papers finally get sorted. Some local was ´helping her¨and he ¨worked for the embassy¨. Ths was a sleazy looking dude with raggedy clothes. I did not trust it.

He brought the papers back and she gave him $5 of the money I gave her. I did not think he was needed for this.

We get on to driving finally. Time was lost. I took it easy though.

After her slow driving we get to Nicaragua hours later. What happened in this time_ well, I gave her another $10 because she has no money to eat. Then I gave her another $20 because she did not have money for gas. At no point did I feel scammed or that I wasnt going to get my money back. nor did I care... She needed help. This is a fact.

The thing is that when I see women around my moms age I think of my mom. I love and respect her more than any woman in the world and I treat other women as I do her as I am sure to someone they are that kind of person too. cAll me weird...

At the border of Nic similar dudes run up the cars offering to do our papers for $5 bucks. I sort of snap and say hell no. If there is one thing I dont have tolerance for when traveling its getting hustled. I can honestly say I am extremely experienced and know when I´m being hustled. The other 2 in the car (Ed was with us too), give these morons the time of day. I keep on telling them to stop talking to them and thats its a scam. The ¨guides¨ tell Val (the older woman) that it costs $150 to get her dog in the car. Its like 7 pm at this pont, I could have been in Nic by then and doing what I wanted to and since I only have 18 days for this trip I was CHOKED! I didnt say anyhting about this though out of respect and because she was clearly not as wise to this as me... mom factor I call it.

The dog thing REALLY made me mad cause she started to buy it.

I jumped out of the car and said I was going to sort everything out myself. KEep in mind I speak preatty much no englis hand certainly less than the 2 of them. I go, and as expected, I do all my own passport stuff like I do in every country, from Haiti to Congo and everything easier and harded in between.

I then go and ask about Vals stuff.

Cost for her to cross... 7 dollars.

Her car... 12 dollars.

Her dog.... 2.50. 150 DOLLARS MY ASS!

I even grab her passport, talk to the borded dude for 5 minutes and take it away from the scammer and take it back to her. When I give it to Val the guide tries to act like he had done something for her. I tell her how he has indeed tried to scam her for the dog and how he shouldnt be given any money. She tips him anyway. Imagine my anger at this point. The reason for the anger more than anything was that 1 days lost in 18 days is a lot of time for me. Ah....

So she goes and does her car stuff and we finally roll on. Before that though we had to go tested for the swine flu: the test is easy. you can do it at home. here is how it went: they asked my name, nationality, and if i had the swine flu. I laughed and said no. The 2 others were very nervous and on their toes.

So what would yash do in this kind of scenerio... YOU GUESSED IT! The least appropriate thing! I started coughing violently and acted really sick. The testers, with masks and all, jumped back in shock.


I looked at them and started laughing and said ¨hahahaha! GOTCHA!¨ They cracked up too! the travelers were scared shitless thinking I had jepordized our chances of getting in. hahaha. good times. No back to the shitty stuff.

We roll to the next patrol guard. He askes Val for the car stuff. She doesnt have it. He askes again. Nothing.

she had neglected to get on of the things we needed. I was choked as shit now. Mind you by this time I had given her more money ... 100 dollars total now.

So we have to go back and wait there for another 1.5 hours for her to get this. She relaxed. Im bitting my lip.

We finally get through. Im thinking we can still make it in time. She says she doesnt feel driving cause of bad roads and banditos... dudes who rob you while driving. I dont care. Ive been to much worse places and done much crazier things. She started saying how she felt scared as a women and I didnt say a thing out respect and empathy. no amount of those 2 things can make u stop being bitter about this situation though.

Long story short (and believe it or not this is 10 percent of what went down) i ended up sleeping in a hamock for 4 hours, being ate alive by mosuitos, and waking up at 6 am to the sound of some crazy ass birds.)

We finally get driving. I see a v0lcano on the way. that was the highlight of those 24 hours.

She finally drops me off at Leon. I gave her another $20 just because i didnt want her to be stranded.

It was really shitty. I couldnt afford to lose a day, but at the same time I would have helped her no matter what because you can´t leave a person that vulnerable to fend for themselves. It was a shitty turn of events, but it made me learn why I love traveling alone.

Sorry for the bitter story. Trust me you did not even hear half of it.

Leon is gorgeous though, young people are everywhere, and the beers is the cheapest yet. I´m gonna make up for last night tonight. Hello Central American Monday hangover....

P n L

Y

"UNCLE! UUUUUUUUUUNCLE!!!!!!!!!! I DONT WANNA DIE"

Holy smokes.

So I went out today to learn to surf. I went the rental office and asked for a lesson. it costs 10 dollars. They said it wasn't a good idea because the waves were really violent. it was a full moon last night so the tides were high and strong. i was a little disappointed but since I don't know how to surf and am not a great swimmer I decided to follow their advice.

The waves were INSANE today. Just monsterous! I wasn't going to let the day pass me by so I figured if I can't surf the waves, then at least I can play with them. I went to the beach and walked about 5 feet in. The water, when it came in, covered me to the hips and took me back a foot or two every time it hit me. I decided to go further in. It started hitting me at the neck. I stood there for about 15 minutes and took hits wave and wave. It was kind of scary actually. It was also really... magestic. Its a really odd feeling watching a massive wave come out you. They were violent and when they hit down they created turbelent rapids that looked like the could break things in half. Nonetheless I was loving the fear...

An hour goes by and I'm met by 2 other travelers. We kick it at the beach for a bit and then decide to go in. This is where I made a HUGE mistake.

Before going in one of the guys said he would not swim in that far as it was dangerous.

I on the other hand decided to venture out. I swam out probably around 100 feet. Maybe less. Maybe more. I was out there though...

By the time I got there I realized I was out of energy. My shoulders were toast. So I thought it would be wise to go back. However, I had no energy to do so!

I gave it all I had and made no progress as the tide kept on builing me out. I got a bit worried. Ok pretty worried! I gave and gave and I WAS DONE! I did all I could to try and catch a massive wave to wash my exhuasted body to shore. No dice...

I tried and tried and got far enough to get hit by one. I saw it coming and it was MASSIVE! I saw it rise up above me a good few feet. I was thrilled cause it was going to push me back.

Well... it did, but before doing so it swallowed me whole, took me under, and didn't let me up. I tried to swim up but I was so out of energy. More importantly, I had depleted my oxygen. I was begging to drown and started swallowing water. I thought to myself I was screwed. I don't think I was going to die, but I did wonder how I was going to recover from what that wave took out of me.

I finally came up, took a big breath, coughed up the salty water *so salty it burns your throat* and struggled back. I was dying for the moment my feet would touch ground again.

They finally did.

I dragged my sorry ass out of the water and went to the guys and collapsed on the ground. Haha I was SO tired and hella scared. When I was in trouble I thoguht of yelling out for help but for some reason I didn't. Stupid me....

LESSON LEARNT THOUGH! El Salvador's waters, I SURRENDER! UNCLE! UNCLE! I WONT VENTURE OUT AGAIN!

Homo-clowns, and other things you will encounter on a El Salvadorian bus...

So I am in El Salvador now. The idiots at American Airlines finally got me my bag but they were super late. I had to take the bus at 4 am to Guatemala city and then another bus from their to San Salvador. I didn't have an alarm so I decided to stay up till 4 am. How did I plan on doing this? The worst way possible... getting drunk.

I bought a 7 yr old bottle of rum for Necaragua *tasted like angel tears btw* and downed a dozen beers or so... ya... terrible idea. after a sleep ride to this new country, i took a new bus to the beach of Tunco. its amazing.

here is there thing though. on the buses here people get on the bus and try to sell you things from dried plantains, to candy, to books... name it. they hustle HARD! today thought the hustle got much deeper.

I was sitting in this bus heading to the beach when a clown walks in. yes... a clown. in fact, it was the second one for the day. also walks in a guy with died hair who looked stereotypically gay. the clown walks to the back of the bus and hangs out. the gay looking guy stands in the front of the bus and starts giving a speach about something he wanted to sell. this is normal.

all of a sudden the clown starts yelling god knows what at the gay guy. he was saying to the ppl not to but from him because it was gonna go to drugs etc etc . it was a heated yelling match from one end of the bus to the other. i thought a fight was going to break out.

turns out they were putting on a play for hte bus. that was their hustle. turned out that were also both gay. the guy at the front started spanking the clown with what lookied like a whip. it was funny as hell and i was SO confused. it was a new level of hustle and i gave them a buck for the entertainment.

anywho... im off to get sun burnt now read some more J.S Mill. Its been real.

Y

I love SOME Americas.

Americas I love¨...Central

Americas I hate ... United States! Why_ because the pricks at the aiport kept may bag. Ya.. remember how they did that to me on my way back from South Africa_ Ya... well... they thought it would be a good idea that I land in Guatemala.. a country I know nothing of and no one in with nothing! Animals... I hate this ratial profiling! What hell are they thinking_ That they´re going to find Bin Laden tucked between my underwear and mosquito spray_ bastards!

But I´m actually not upset. Why_ because I´m living the life! I arrive in Guat City last nigth and was shown a lot of hospitality by a couch surfer named Alvero. He let me crash at his place for the night and today I took a ¨chicken bus¨ to a city called Anigua. Its an old colonial town and its STUNNING! My jaw has been on the ground for a while, and when its not on the ground its around a cheap bottle of beer. The weather is hot, but not boiling. The people are nice... and short. I feel pretty big here hahaha

I don´t know what I´m going to do tomorrow... or next hour. This is what I love about traveling. Even if I don´t have my bad and have to wear the same stinky clothes for 3 weeks I am still content as long as I can learn about a new culture.

I also have my eyes wide open for starting a new P&L project. Anyway... its my first day here and the last place I want to be in behind a screen!

ADIOS!

Wayda high-five the Catholic priest who demonized a 9 year old girl who had an abortion after being sexually abused by her step dad. Really, REALLY classy move.

I can't believe in the year 2009 we still have such bigots in our society. Its sort of like when we look back at ancient cultures who used to sacrifice virgins. This is pathetic...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7930380.stm

Vatican backs abortion row bishop

Cardinal Re said the attack on Brazil's Catholic Church was unjustified

A senior Vatican cleric has defended the excommunication in Brazil of the mother and doctors of a young girl who had an abortion with their help.

The nine-year-old had conceived twins after alleged abuse by her stepfather.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re told Italian paper La Stampa that the twins "had the right to live" and attacks on Brazil's Catholic Church were unfair.

It comes a day after Brazil's president criticised the Brazilian archbishop who excommunicated the people involved.

Brazil only permits abortions in cases of rape or health risks to the mother.

Doctors said the girl's case met both these conditions, but the Archbishop of Olinda and Recife, Jose Cardoso Sobrinho said the law of God was above any human law.

He said the excommunication would apply to the child's mother and the doctors, but not to the girl because of her age.

'Sad case'

Cardinal Re, who heads the Roman Catholic Church's Congregation for Bishops and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, told La Stampa that the archbishop had been right to excommunicate the mother and doctors.

Life must always be protected, the attack on the Brazilian Church is unjustified Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re

"It is a sad case but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons, who had the right to live and could not be eliminated," he said.

"Life must always be protected, the attack on the Brazilian Church is unjustified."

The abortion was carried out on Wednesday.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, himself a Catholic, said on Friday that he regretted what he described as the cleric's deeply conservative attitude.

"The doctors did what had to be done: save the life of a girl of nine years old," he said.

The girl, who lives in the north-eastern state of Pernambuco, was allegedly sexually assaulted over a number of years by her stepfather, possibly since she was six.

The fact that she was four months' pregnant with twins was only discovered after she was taken to hospital in Pernambuco complaining of stomach pains.

Her stepfather was arrested last week, allegedly as he tried to escape to another region of the country.

He is also suspected of abusing the girl's physically handicapped 14-year-old sister.

Hype not Hope: Obama will not pull troops out of U.S and Jon Stewart put it best.

I keep on saying it: Obama is no different. People were so happy to hear he would pull troops out of Iraq and end the war in Iraq. So in last couple of weeks he has started that during 2010 the troops will be withdrawn.

Now here is the tricky part: he also said he is going to keep 35,000 to 50,000 troops there after to train and advise Iraqis, and to do "counter-terrorism" missions. Does that sound familiar to you at all? If not, I can tell you thats exactly what Bush said.

The following clip from the Daily Show, with videos of Obama and Bush's speeches, says it best. It start at 7:20 minutes in.

http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart/full-episodes/march-3-2009/#clip145165

Laugh... then cry.

Hype Not Hope.

More reason I don't believe Obama is any different from past presidents. Same shit, different face.

US Israel support 'unshakeable'

The issue of a two-state solution is high on Mrs Clinton's agenda

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has restated her country's "unshakable support for Israel, following a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres.

She is on her first visit to the region as the top diplomat of the new administration or Barack Obama.

Mrs Clinton plans to talk about how to move to a final peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

But with Israel still in the process of forming a new government, few are predicting significant progress.

Mrs Clinton arrived in Israel from Egypt, where the US and other international donors pledged almost $4.5bn (£3.2bn) for rebuilding Gaza.

There is no doubt that any nation, including Israel, cannot stand idly by while its territory and people are subjected to rocket attacks Hillary Clinton

Her two days of talks started in Jerusalem. She will also be holding separate talks with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu and caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

On Wednesday, she is due to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmood Abbas in the West Bank.

After meeting Mr Peres, Mrs Clinton said it was important to underscore the "unshakeable, durable and fundamental" US support for the state of Israel… [and] our "unrelenting commitment to Israel's security".

"The continuing rocket attacks against Israel must cease. There is no doubt that any nation, including Israel, cannot stand idly by while its territory and people are subjected to rocket attacks," she added.

At the donor conference in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, Mrs Clinton underlined that the new US administration is committed to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

She also reiterated her personal commitment to a peaceful settlement but hinted that it will require patience.

Potential clashes

The US is Israel's closest ally but there are fears of potential tensions between the two countries.

Israel's Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu will not openly commit to a two-state solution to the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US is critical of Israel's continued building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The BBC's Middle East correspondent Tim Franks says the relationship between the US and Israel may become a little less warm.

He also predicts that American diplomacy will sound a new tone with stronger condemnation of Israeli settlement building in the West Bank, as well as greater pragmatism in dealing with the reality of Hamas's control of the Gaza Strip.

The US regards Hamas as a terrorist organisation and refuses to deal with the group.

Washington donated $900m to Gaza and the Palestinian Authority but it does not want any of the money to end up in the hands of Hamas.

Clinton's delicate Mid-East tour Palestinians pledge era of unity Send us your comments

Israel's military offensive in December and January killed some 1,300 Palestinians, of whom 412 were children, and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. Thirteen Israelis were killed during the three weeks of violence.

The Israeli operation was launched to stop rocket attacks from Gaza. Speaking in Egypt, Mrs Clinton said she was troubled that these continued.

Rocket hits Ashkelon

A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed in southern Israel on Monday night, the Israeli army reported.

The rocket came to ground in the city of Ashkelon. There were no reports of injury or damage.

On Monday, the Israeli government lodged an official complaint with the United Nations about the continued rocket fire form Gaza.

"The government of Israel will continue to safeguard its citizens and will do everything in its power to ensure that the situation in the south will not go back to what it was before December 2008," the letter read.

"Israel will not endure and will respond in kind to attacks against its citizens."

As many as 120 rockets, fired from the strip, have been counted since the two sides entered into a ceasefire on 18 January, AFP say

Millions of orphans in Nigeria need care and access to basic services

Abuja, 15 June 2005. “African Orphans: our collective responsibility”: the theme for this year’s commemoration of the Day of the African Child on June 16 is drawing attention to the tragic situation of millions of orphans throughout the continent. According to a recent study published by UNICEF in 2004, “Children on the Brink”, there were 43 million orphans in Sub-Saharan African in 2003, an increase of more than one-third since 1990.

In Nigeria, a rapid assessment of orphans and vulnerable children conducted in 2004 with UNICEF support revealed that there were about seven millions orphans in 2003 and that 800,000 more orphans were added during that same year. Out of this total number, about 1.8 million are orphaned by HIV-AIDS. With the spread of HIV-AIDS, the number of orphans is expected to increase rapidly in the coming years to 8.2 million by 2010.

“The study shows clearly that Nigeria is facing an emergency situation in which millions of children are in dire need of care and special protection measures”, said Mr Ayalew Abai, UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria. “These children are the most vulnerable of all. The negative impact on the society of orphanhood of so many children is evident through the growing number of children living in the streets, exposed to the worst forms of child labour and child trafficking.”

The low awareness of the general public of the magnitude of the situation of orphans and vulnerable children and the as yet limited response of government accounts for the fact that responses are still mostly confined to families and communities. With the burden of poverty, families and communities cannot cope with an increased number of orphans.

Following a National Conference on orphans and vulnerable children, held in February 2004, a rapid assessment was conducted, leading to the development of a national action plan focusing on policy development, capacity building and planning at all levels. Others areas include increased economic capacity of caregivers and access to basic services for orphaned children, such as education, health and nutrition, protection and social care.

“All children have the right to quality education, health care and protection. Orphans and vulnerable children are not enjoying this right”, said Mr Abai. “This year, the issue of orphans and vulnerable children should be at the forefront of the agenda for policy makers, opinion leaders, media, and development partners in order to scale up the national response on orphans. We need to make sure that they do not suffer a double jeopardy: losing their parents and being utterly neglected by society.”

60 Minutes tears the occupation 60 new ones

I came by the segment aired on 60 Minutes not too long ago. Its 13 minutes long and extremely insightful and informative. You'll learn a lot


Watch CBS Videos Online

No no... we didn't use white Phosphorus... ok so maybe we did!"

sad... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7848768.stm

'Phosphorus wounds' alarm Gazans

By Aleem Maqbool BBC News, Gaza City

Sabah Abu Halima suffered terrible burns on her arms, legs and torso

Staring straight ahead and rocking steadily backwards and forwards in her hospital bed, Sabah Abu Halima lists the fate of each of her nine children.

"Abed, 14 years old, was decapitated," she says. "Shaheed, one year and three months, was in my arms when the fire took her…"

Sabah explains that her husband and four of her children died when their house in northern Gaza was shelled during the recent Israeli offensive.

Many of the rooms in that house now lay dark and empty - blackened by fire.

The light fittings and power sockets have melted down the walls.

These burns were very severe, very deep, and became deeper and wider over time Dr Nafiz Abu Shabaan Q&A: White phosphorus injuries UN accuses Israel over phosphorus Israel defends use of phosphorus

A shaft of light coming from the ceiling of the corridor, and mangled steel, marks the entry point of one of the missiles.

Scrawled, in Arabic, on the wall of a bedroom is the statement: "From the Israeli Defence Forces, we are sorry."

But on the next wall, there is a patch of white where, Sabah's 20-year-old son Mahmoud tells us, had also been the words "nice underwear". He says he scrubbed them off in anger.

'Strange burns'

Hundreds were killed in the 22-day Israeli offensive, but it is the manner in which Sabah's relatives lost their lives, and the weapon used, that has attracted attention.

Sabah's family say Israeli troops wrote an apology in Arabic on their wall

Sabah herself has suffered terrible burns on her arms, legs and torso and is considerable pain.

"There was fire, and so much white smoke," she says. "The missile melted my children. My daughter-in-law melted in front of my eyes."

Dr Nafiz Abu Shabaan, the head of the unit in which Sabah is being treated, says he has seen many victims with what he described as "strange burns".

"These burns were very severe, very deep, and became deeper and wider over time," he says. "In some cases, smoke came out of the wound, even after hours."

The cause of these types of injuries is believed, by visiting medical officials, to be Israel's use of shells containing white phosphorus.

Incendiary weapon

In another part of the city, at a former security compound flattened by the Israeli bombardment, Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch, points out evidence that white phosphorus had been used.

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Mobile phone footage of an Israeli attack on a UN school

"We're standing here right next to an M825A1, which is the US designation for their white phosphorus shell," he says.

"Manufactured in the US and sold to Israel, the shell here is unexploded, although it's cracked and you can see the phosphorus pouring out in kind of this yellow-orange colour."

"Around the area there are also some white phosphorus felt pieces," he adds.

"As the weapon explodes in mid-air, 116 pieces of felt doused in white phosphorus fall on a large area. These pieces are littered around here. If you kicked them open, they would begin to smoke and potentially reignite."

It's important that we investigate the use of white phosphorus, because it does appear that it was used incorrectly in a clear breach of Geneva Conventions Marc Garlasco, military analyst Human Rights Watch

Controversial as it is, white phosphorus is not illegal, at least in an open battlefield setting, where it is used to mask troop movements, or set on fire areas of high brush that need clearing.

But the international convention on the use of incendiary weapons says it should not be used where there is a possibility of hitting civilians.

The compound sticks to human skin and will burn right through to the bone, causing death or leaving survivors with painful wounds which are slow to heal.

United Nations officials say it was used in the shelling of a school in which hundreds of civilians were taking refuge from the fighting, and fired at the UN's main headquarters in Gaza.

Eyewitnesses and victims talk of it being used on many other occasions in built-up areas.

Internal investigation

After initially denying that white phosphorus shells were fired in Gaza, some Israeli military officials have now acknowledged its use.

Analysts say the distinctively shaped plumes are indicative of white phosphorus

The army says it has started an internal investigation, the insistence being until now that no weapons were used illegally.

Human rights groups have meanwhile started their own research.

"It's important that we investigate the use of white phosphorus, because it does appear that it was used incorrectly in a clear breach of Geneva Conventions, " says Mr Garlasco.

"But as grave as the injuries caused by white phosphorus are, there are a number of weapons that were used in Gaza that killed and injured an awful lot more people," he adds.

"We have to look at the full variety of weapons that were used here, how they were employed and how they impacted on the civilian population."

Peace-maker's daughters killed

Here is a sad story I came by...

Gaza doctor's loss grips Israelis

Dr Izeldeen Abuelaish shared his grief at losing his daughters

By Lucy Ash BBC World Service

I first met Dr Izeldeen Abuelaish eight years ago when I made a radio documentary about his extraordinary life and work.

A Palestinian obstetrician who specialises in treating infertility, he lives in the Jabaliya camp in the Gaza Strip, but used to work part-time in Israel helping Jewish women to have babies.

He also had a clinic in Gaza, taught medical school students there and arranged for seriously ill Palestinian patients to be treated in Israel.

He put up with the tedious and sometimes humiliating border checks with dignity and patience.

He stayed calm when one of his own Palestinian medical students told him she was "very, very angry" that he was helping Israelis to have children.

"What if these babies grow up to become soldiers who kill our people?" asked the young woman.

My daughters and I were armed with nothing but love and hope Dr Izeldeen Abuelaish

Despite all the suspicion, the hatred and the barriers Dr Abuelaish continued his work.

In 2001, Dr Gad Potashnik was in charge of the IVF clinic at the Soroka University Hospital in Beersheba.

He described Dr Abuelaish as a "magical, secret bridge between Israelis and Palestinians".

But that "magical, secret bridge" is now close to breaking point.

I have stayed in touch with Dr Abuelaish over the years.

Since we met he has had a number of jobs and research posts abroad.

In September 2008 he was about to start working for the European Union in Africa but had to return home after he wife, Nadia, fell ill with leukaemia.

Israeli patients

She died soon after his return, leaving him a widower with eight children aged three to 20.

In the middle of the recent conflict, I interviewed Dr Abuelaish for the BBC World Service's Outlook programme.

He told me all the glass had been blown out of the windows of his house, he could hear firing and explosions all around and he was desperately worried for the safety of his children.

Then on Friday afternoon, just a day before the ceasefire was announced, his worst nightmare came true.

"My daughters were just sitting quietly talking in their bedroom at home," Dr Izeldeen Abuelaish told me on the phone between sobs.

"I had just left the room, carrying my youngest son on my shoulders. Then a shell came through the wall.

Jabaliya Camp was hit repeatedly by Israeli strikes

"I rushed back to find their dead bodies - or rather parts of their bodies - strewn all over the room. One was still sitting in a chair but she had no legs.

"Tell me why did they have to die? Who gave the order to fire on my house?"

In a voice cracked with emotion, he added: "You know me, Lucy. You have been to my house, my hospital; you have seen my Israeli patients.

"I have tried so hard to bring people on both sides together and just look what I get in return."

The victims were Bisan, aged 20, Mayar, 15, Aya aged 13 and the physician's 17-year-old niece Nur Abuelaish.

"My eldest daughter was five months away from finishing her degree in business and financial management. She was looking forward to the future and I was so proud of her."

I remember talking to Dr Abuelaish in his house as his children scurried around him asking questions and singing songs.

Bisan was a cheeky, bright-eyed girl, keen to show off her English and read aloud from her school text book.

Audience response

During the recent military campaign, Dr Abuelaish, who speaks fluent Hebrew, had been acting as an unofficial correspondent for a Tel Aviv-based TV station, giving daily updates by phone.

It feels to me as if some of our audience is seeing and hearing about the high price ordinary Palestinians are paying in this conflict for the first time Shlomi Eldar Israeli TV journalist

He was determined to let Israelis know as much as possible about the suffering of Palestinian civilians under Israel's bombardment.

Minutes after the shell hit his house, Dr Abuelaish phoned the station's presenter, Shlomi Eldar, to describe what had happened.

The Israeli journalist looked awkward and visibly distressed as the doctor's disembodied voice is broadcast crying: "My daughters, they killed them, Oh Lord. God, God, God."

Mr Eldar mobilised his contacts in the Israel military to open the border and fly the injured girls by helicopter to the Tel Hashomer Medical Centre, the largest hospital in Israel.

He said thousands of viewers had called the station following the harrowing interview with Dr Abuelaish.

"I think this broadcast will change public opinion in Israel," said Mr Eldar speaking by phone from Tel Aviv.

"It feels to me as if some of our audience is seeing and hearing about the high price ordinary Palestinians are paying in this conflict for the first time".

Dr Abuelaish's 17-year-old daughter Shadha is recovering there from an operation which may save her right eye, injured in the blast.

Her 12-year-old cousin Daida is in a critical condition from shrapnel wounds.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said the incident is now under investigation.

"For the time being, all that I can tell you is that our troops fired on the house because they had come under attack from somewhere in the vicinity of the house. Possibly a sniper but I can't confirm that," the spokeswoman said.

Speaking from the hospital, Dr Abuelaish denied that any militants had been hiding in or firing from his house.

"Violence is never the right way. My daughters and I were armed with nothing but love and hope."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7838465.stm

The use of human shields in Gaza... by israel.

The term human shield is often thrown around by the israeli media, claiming that Palestinian freedom fighters use civilians in conflict to protect themselves.

A report by Amnesty International confirms the use of human shields and condemns it. However, Amnesty has now exposed that it is israel that is using Palestinians as human shiled, not the Palestinian freedom fighters. Please read; Please stand up.

"

Gaza civilians endangered by the military tactics of both sides

© APGraphicsBank">

Israeli artillery fires towards southern Gaza Strip, from Israel side of the border

© APGraphicsBank

8 January 2009

Amnesty International said on Wednesday that both Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters are endangering the lives of Palestinian civilians – including by using them as human shields.

“Our sources in Gaza report that Israeli soldiers have entered and taken up positions in a number of Palestinian homes, forcing families to stay in a ground floor room while they use the rest of their house as a military base and sniper position,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. “This clearly increases the risk to the Palestinian families concerned and means they are effectively being used as human shields.”

Both Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen are continuing to fire at each other from areas close to civilian homes, endangering their inhabitants.

Israeli forces have bombed civilian homes and other buildings, arguing that they had been used as cover by gunmen firing at Israeli targets, although Palestinian fighters usually vacate the areas as soon as they have fired.

“The Israeli army is well-aware that Palestinian gunmen usually leave the area after having fired and that any reprisal attack against these homes will in most cases cause harm to civilians -- not gunmen.”

“Fighters on both sides must not carry out attacks from civilian areas but when they do take cover behind a civilian house or building to fire it does not make that building and its civilian inhabitants a legitimate military target. Any such attacks are unlawful,” said Malcolm Smart.

“The use of these tactics at a time when armed confrontations are taking place in streets in the middle of densely-populated residential areas underlines the failure of both sides to respect the protected status of civilians in armed conflict,” said Malcolm Smart. “It underlines too the urgent need for an independent investigation into alleged abuses, including possible war crimes, by both sides and for perpetrators to be held to account.”

Background
Following Tuesday’s attack on an UNWRA school in the Jabaliya refugee camp, Israeli government spokespeople said their forces shelled the school after Palestinian gunmen fired at them from it, but this is disputed. The artillery strike, which killed some 40 Palestinians, including children, and wounded more than 50 others, appears clearly to have been a disproportionate attack.

In the past, Israeli soldiers have frequently taken over Palestinian homes, effectively imprisoning their occupants, to use as military observation and firing positions. In other cases, they have forced Palestinian civilians, at gunpoint, to go before them into buildings from which they feared attack.

The practice by Israeli soldiers of taking over Palestinian civilians’ homes and holding their inhabitants as human shields while using the house as a shooting position has been very common in the past eight years both in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank. In a previous incursion in the Gaza Strip in March 2008, Israeli soldiers took over at least three houses in the north and in February 2008 soldiers took over another house in the village of Beit Ummar, near Hebron, in the West Bank.

Palestinian families caught up in the current fighting in the Gaza Strip report that in some cases Palestinian gunmen have agreed to vacate areas near civilian homes without firing at Israeli forces when local residents have objected to their presence. In other cases, they have refused the residents' requests and only left after firing. In still other cases, residents say they were too scared to ask the gunmen to leave.

The use of “human shields” in conflict is prohibited under Article 51(7) of the Geneva Conventions: "The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield, favour or impede military operations."

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/gaza-civilians-endangered-military-tactics-both-sides-20090108

United Nations General Assembly President calls Israel an apartheid state, calls for a boycott.

Surprised? I am not! Just for fun, I decided to take this article from an Israeli newspaper. Can you imagine what the ones from around the world would say?

United Nations General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann. (Reuters)

Last update - 20:39 25/11/2008

Top UN official: Israel's policies are like apartheid of bygone era

By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service

Tags: Palestinian Solidarity, UN

United Nations General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann on Monday likened Israel's policies toward the Palestinians to South Africa's treatment of blacks under apartheid. Israel's actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were like "the apartheid of an earlier era," said Brockmann, of Nicaragua, speaking at the annual debate marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. He added: "We must not be afraid to call something what it is." Advertisement Brockmann stressed that it was important for the United Nations to use the heavily-charged term since it was the institution itself that had passed the International Convention against the crime of apartheid. Israeli ambassador to the UN Gabriela Shalev in September called Brockmann an "Israel hater" for having hugged Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a vocal enemy of Israel. Meanwhile, other diplomatic attacks against Israel were expected Tuesday on the second day of the annual debate. The event is usually observed on November 29, to coincide with the UN's resolution in 1947 to establish a Jewish and an Arab state in Palestine. The Palestinians, along with a group of Arab states, intend to use Tuesday's debate, entitled "the Palestinian question and the situation in the Middle East," for a public campaign directed at the international community about the the suffering of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation. They will also denounce Israel as responsible for the lack of a solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Speakers at the debate are expected to harshly criticize Israel for its policy in the territories, especially following UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's complaint that Israel refused his request to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. In her address Tuesday, Shalev asked why the UN has turned November 29 into a day of mourning, but does not mention that on this day a resolution to establish two states was adopted with Israel's consent. "The UN must adopt new content and no longer accept the agenda foisted on it by the automatic majority, which sabotages the peace process' progress in the region," she said. The two-day event includes several events and ceremonies at the UN headquarters, including movies and photography exhibitions showing alleged Palestinian hardships under Israeli occupation. The debate is expected to end with the adoption of some 20 anti-Israel resolutions. In the past, these included denouncing Israel for annexing East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in separate resolutions.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1040614.html

"Broke
Hungry
Sincerely Molly" - The Boyfriend

Tonight, after work, I walked up Granville and saw her again. She looks exactly the same every single night. As soon as I saw her I turned around and walked the other way.

I went to a restaurant down the road ( i would rather not give details for privacy reasons) and talked to my friend about her. I got him to give me some food for her.

With a bag full of warm food in hand, accompinied by fresh cookies and some orange juice, I walked back towards here. Here is tonight's convo.

Y: hey my friend, hows it going?

M: not bad

Y: i got some hot food for you

M: where is from?

Y: a resturant down the road

M: thanks

Y: no problem. so how was your day? get up to anything or were you sitting here the whole day?

M: no i went to another place near stanley park

Y: cool. do you sit there too?

M: no. i meet with my boyfriend there and we walk around some days

Y: oh awesome. where does he stay?

M: he is sort of in the same situation as me. he is homeless to. he stays around Main

Y: wouldn't it be better if you guys stayed together though... for company at least?

M: its ok i see him during our walks

Y: i see. if you don't mind me asking, how much money do you usually get in a day?

M: its depends

Y: what does a good day look like?

M: on a really good day I can get $30

Y: I see. well Molly I won't keep you. Make sure you eat the food while its warm

M: thanks have a good night

Y: take care. I'll see you tomorrow.

M: thanks


So I got some more in sights in to Holly's life today. I think its beautiful that she has a boyfriend. It surprised me I guess. I am glad she has warm, caring human contact. As I walked away tonight I thought how incredible it would be if I had a way to get her back on her feet...

Peace & Love,

Yashar

"Broke
Hungry
Sincerely Molly"

I have been working downtown for the last month and a half. I walk past Granville and Georgia at least twice a day, often times more. A month ago something started getting to me on this street corner.

Homelessness. I noticed a month ago a young woman, homeless, covered in a blanket, sitting on the corner of the street. She has a piece of cardboard in front of her. It was about 2 feet by 2 feet. She was filled in the the big bold words of her sign which read:

"Broke
Hungry
Sincerely Molly"

I walked on. Day after day I saw her day. Most nights I would see her in the same place too. Mind you I go to work at 11 and come home, at the earlier 8, but usually at 10 or 11 after my work out. She would still be there. She sits still, or sometimes picks at the ground. There is nothing to be picked, from my vantage point at least, but she picks. She does not beg, nor try to engage the tens of thousands of people who must walk past her everyday.

I watch her as I walk past her, and I also watch others who do the same. Most stop for a few minutes, staring at her as they wait for the little orange hand to turn into a Caucasian male so they can walk to their next destination.

When I was in Tanzania a couple of years ago I came to the conclusion that giving to homeless people makes them dependent, thus I tried not to. I can get more into this logic, but its not relevant to this post.

For the last 2 weeks when I walked past her I felt awful. It gets worse and worse every time. I feel so terrible, and I can't say I have ever felt like that towards a homeless person before. I do not know why its like this with her. I cannot explain at all, and this is coming from a person who usually has an explanation for everything. All I know is that even writing this now makes me feel bad.

A few days ago I gave her a few dollars and wished her a good night. I did this one other time. I always asked her how she was doing and she would tilt up her head a bit and say she was fine. I asked her about homeless shelters and she said they are usually full. I asked her if she gets cold at night and she said sometimes.

Tonight I was walking home and as I walked up Granville I thought to myself "man I really hope shes not there tonight... I really hope shes not there". I feel terrible.

She was there. Covered in blanket as usual, eyes open by staring at the ground with what sort of seems like a sad smile. she sat there. I walked to the closest place I could and bought her some juice, fresh fruit, and chips. I asked the store owner if he had any food that he would be throwing out in the next few days so I could give it to her and he said no.

I walked backed to her, squatted down, and began talked to her. the following is basically how our short convo went.

Y: Hi Molly. This is for you
M: Thanks
Y: Are you hungry often?
M: Usually twice a day
Y: I think I remember when you first came her. It was about a month ago, right?
M: Ya about that
Y: How did you end up here?
M: Well, I hitch hiked from Prince Edward Island.
Y: Seriously?! wow... why?
M: I had been homeless there for a couple of months before coming, and the weather was getting cold and it was hard to stay outside so I moved out her
Y: How did you become homeless, if you don't mind me asking?
M: sometimes welfare stops coming, sometime you cant pay the rent, sometimes your parents don't support you
Y: where are your parents?
M: PEI
Y: and they would rather have you be homeless than to help you out?
M: yea...
Y: thats fucked up.
M: yea...
Y: how old are you Molly?
M: 23
Y: cool. I'm 22. I am going to get going now, but I will see you tomorrow morning
M: ok
Y: by the way my name is Yash. It was nice meeting you. (I stuck out my hand, she pulled her our from under her blanket, and shook mine
M: you too
Y: Goodnight

Guys, I want to help Molly. I am asking you what I should do? I wish I had a house so I could give her a room, but I don't live on my own and can't. Today I thought to myself how awesome it would be if I could house her and help her find a job. I wish I didn't have to work so I could pursue these kinds of things all the time.

I think I want to give her some blankets soon. One of my most hated feeling in the world is being cold. I assume she is cold all the time.

Your thoughts are beyond appreciated. Please speak your mind.

Peace & Love,

Yashar

Hype > Hope: A new series of posts, calling the Obama presidency like it is. Rahm Emanual

My last post laid out, plain and simple, why I do not think this presidency is any different. Only a day after being president, unfortunately, Obama proved me right.

This series, called Hype > Hope, will try to show you that there is much more hype than hope in Obama.

Obama showed his first sign of being another evil president by appointing Rahm Emanuel (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/politics/bal-te.obama07nov07,0,1933052.story) a his chief of staff, one of the highest posts in the White House.

So whats wrong with this appointment? Its simple: it clearly shows that he is following the exact same agenda and answering to the exact same people as those who came before, and in this case specifically on the matter of Israel. People gave Obama shit for his middle name being Hussien. Ironically, Rahm's middle name is "Israel"... however, unlike Obama, he actually has very strong ties to Israel.

Here is Emanuel's stat sheet, whos appointment shows that Obama, like many who came before him, is in the pocket of the israeli lobby, and that he will therefore continue the support of human rights breaches, occupation, and injustice in the middle east for selfish american and israeli gains.

Rahm Emanul
-Rahm was a civilian volunteer in the Israel Defense Forces during the 1991 Gulf War
-His father was a member of Igrun (

Irgun (Hebrew: ארגון‎; shorthand for HaIrgun HaTzva'i HaLe'umi BeEretz Yisra'el, הארגון הצבאי הלאומי בארץ ישראל, "National Military Organization in the Land of Israel") was a militant Zionist group that operated in Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was established as a militant offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah (Hebrew: "The Defense", ההגנה). For secrecy reasons, people often referred to the Irgun, during that time, as Haganah Bet (Hebrew: literally "Defense 'B' " or "Second Defense", הגנה ב), or alternatively as Haganah Ha'leumit (ההגנה הלאומית) or Ha'ma'amad (המעמד). In present-day Israel, Irgun is commonly referred to as Etzel (אצ"ל), an acronym of the Hebrew initials.

The Irgun was the armed expression of the nascent ideology of Revisionist Zionism founded by Ze'ev Jabotinsky. He expressed this ideology as "every Jew had the right to enter Palestine; only active retaliation would deter the Arabs and the British; only Jewish armed force would ensure the Jewish state".^[1] Initially, a central part of their efforts included attacks against Palestinian Arabs,^[2] but it increasingly shifted to attacks against the British. Some of the better-known attacks by Irgun were the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on 22 July 1946 and the Deir Yassin massacre (accomplished together with the Stern Gang) on 9 April 1948. In the West, Irgun was described as a terrorist organization by The New York Times newspaper,^[3][4] and by the Anglo-American Committee of Enquiry.^[5] Irgun attacks prompted a formal declaration from the World Zionist Congress in 1946, which strongly condemned "the shedding of innocent blood as a means of political warfare".^[6] Irgun was a political predecessor to Israel's right-wing Herut (or "Freedom") party, which led to today's Likud party.)

*From Wikipedia

-He is a strong supporter of AIPAC (the Jewish lobby)
-In Congress, Emanuel has been a consistent and vocal pro-Israel hardliner, sometimes more so than President Bush. In June 2003, for example, he signed a letter criticizing Bush for being insufficiently supportive of Israel. (http://joelsuarez.com/2008/11/06/obama-picks-pro-israel-hardliner-
rahm-emanuel-for-top-post/) Emanuel, along with 33 other Democrats wrote to Bush. The letter said that Israel’s policy of assassinating Palestinian political leaders “was clearly justified as an application of Israel’s right to self-defense”

-Finally, here are some words from Rahm's father on the appoitment: Dr. Benjamin Emanuel said he was convinced that his son’s appointment would be good for Israel. “Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel,” he was quoted as saying. “Why wouldn’t he be? What is he, an Arab? He’s not going to clean the floors of the White House.” (http://www.jewishblogging.com/blog.php?bid=166409)

So much for hope...