We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Rachel Corrie: Israel’s Legal Black Hole

Click here to access article by Siham Nuseibeh from Muftah. 

I think I am posting this article because I feel rather close to this case due to the fact that Rachel Corrie was from my State of Washington (Olympia) here in the US. She was killed by Israelis while defending the homes of Palestinians. 

I was shocked by the scanty coverage of this incident especially by local media. But, of course, local TV coverage is not really local in that the TV stations are owned by large media corporations. Belo corporation headquartered in Dallas, Texas controls probably most local TV coverage in our state.





On Tuesday morning, August 27, 2012, an Israeli court dismissed a civil suit filed against the government by the parents of American peace activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer while trying to prevent the destruction of Palestinian homes in Gaza in 2003. Corrie was unarmed at the time of her death. 










For more background on this incident, I refer you to two excellent articles:
at
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