"one bullet in the chest and four bullets fired into his head at close range"

i hope that the recent information released about 19 year old furkan dogan, a turkish/american citizen aboard a ship attacked by israeli forces, will shake some people out of their stupor of 'self defense' and 'right to blockade'.
nine people were murdered that night one of whom was dogan, shot five times at close range. four out of five, in the head.

stephen saperstein frug of attempts writes of the latest reports:
"If confirmed, it will certainly put the lie to any claim of self defense by the shooter. A bullet in the chest might well be self-defense (by an aggressor, of course -- the Israelis shouldn't have been on that ship in the first place, and they were the ones attacking -- but nevertheless understandable). A bullet in the head at close range... possibly, probably not but possibly, that's self-defense too. Three more? That's murder. And calls into question the entire rest of the scenario."

jim buie, an american blogger residing in the same town in turkey that dogan was from, writes of the man:

"This young man obviously was a respected member of the community. He was studying at a private high school in Kayseri, similar to the one I teach at, and hoped to become a doctor. He was a neighbor of a student of mine."

on mondoweiss they're asking "can the israeli government kill american citizens with impunity?" what will the american government do to ensure that there is a real investigation into the murder of one of its own citizens?

this is a really great article as well.

the amount of sneering indifference some people have shown towards the loss of life not only on the flotilla but in israeli occupied palestine is just sad. but, this horrific incident has finally and unequivocally proven why we need to stand with palestine.

THIS is why the pamphleteers are voting keith cole:

toronto pride made a bad, bad decision. censoring freedom of speech(which is exactly what they did when they decided to ban queers against israeli apartheid) at a pride event was not only completely unjustifiable but it has also exposed pride TO's true mandate: censorship for sponsorship.

for immediate release is this statement from Keith Cole, the These Pamphleteers endorsed Mayoral candidate.

keith was asked to hose PRIDE's 2010 ALTERNA-QUEER stage on Saturday, July 3. This is his response:

FREEDOM OF SPEECH MUST PREVAIL!
NO CENSORSHIP

I must decline the offer to host PRIDE’s 2010 ALTERNA – QUEER stage on Saturday July 3rd, 2010, South Stage. It is with great sadness that I must say NO to host one of PRIDE’s best music venues due to Censorship and complete ignorance and respect for individuals right to Freedom of Speech by PRIDE.

I love Alterna – Queer. It is and has been one of the best stages at PRIDE for years. The music, the people, the vibe and the bands have been great in the past and 2010 has a great line up of talent indeed, but PRIDE’s decision to dictate censorship and prevent freedom of speech leaves me with no choice – I must decline PRIDE’s offer to host this event. As a human, an artist, a gay and a 2010 Toronto Mayoral Candidate I cannot nor will I ever support an organization that acts as censors and denies people freedom of speech.

PRIDE has made a dangerous and sickening decision. PRIDE now has censorship mechanisms in place and freedom of speech has been challenged today and for the future. Any individual, any group, any person is now at risk at being censored by PRIDE and denied freedom of speech – who or what will be next? A group? An individual? An artist? A band? An idea? A painting? A book? A body-part? A name? A memory? A thought? A drag queen? A dyke? A fag? It could be anyone or anything next. We, the queer community, are the major stakeholders in PRIDE – not governments, corporations, banks, condo developments or beer companies etc… We are what made PRIDE and we will continue to define our PRIDE.

PRIDE will happen with or without government / corporate sponsorship. We will march, gather, protest, party, celebrate and keep on fighting the good fight. Free speech is worth fighting for and censorship must be stopped no matter what the price.

The community will not forget this terrible decision made by PRIDE.

I love the event Alterna – Queer and I love the music but I love freedom of speech and I can never, ever support censorship.

Sent with a Proud, Free & Uncensored Voice,

Keith Cole

Contact: Keith Cole 416-944-0077 / keithcole@sympatico.ca

how much more proof do we need? boycott, divest, sanction.

emergency rally today in response to this horrific attack on a flotilla of ships bringing humanitarian aid to the gaza strip.

as stephen harper rubbed shoulders with the israeli prime minister yesterday in toronto, israeli commandos were getting ready to raid the flotillas--which were carrying civilian activists. there are countless injuries and activists were killed. the israeli forces are claiming they were attacked first--a justification that has no weight when you're an armed force and you're attacking civilians in international waters.

there is a live streaming video here.

EMERGENCY PICKET – TODAY MAY 31
5-7PM OUTSIDE ISRAELI CONSULATE

"Israel has used military force on the peaceful flotilla taking humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel has murdered several unarmed civilians (at least 10 confirmed so far). Again we see the Israeli apartheid state acting with full impunity outside the boundaries of international law while the the Harper government welcomes Prime Minister Netanyahu with open arms.

We will be out today to tell Israel and all its supporters it can not get away with its crimes against humanity without worldwide protest. "

Date: Today May 31
Time: 5-7 pm
Location: Israeli Consulate (180 Bloor St. West)

Bring noise makers! Bring flags! Tell your family and friends.
For more information, please contact endapartheid@riseup.net.

Organized by:
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA)
Toronto Coalition to Stop the War
Gaza Freedom March Committee

probably not the best advice...

according to the toronto star this morning, israeli soldiers invading the gaza strip in january received no real guidelines or rules of engagement and were encouraged to "shoot first ask questions later."

breaking the silence, an israeli organization that collected testimony from IDF soldiers on the front lines of what was called operation "cast lead" is releasing a book containing the stories of 26 israeli soldiers.

"If you're not sure – kill," confessed one of the soldiers who gave his testimony anonymously "The firepower was insane. We went in, and the booms were just mad. The minute we got to our starting line, we simply began firing at suspect places. In urban warfare, everyone is your enemy. No innocents. It was simply urban warfare in every way."

the assault, which left more than 1.300 palestinians and thirteen israelis dead, has been defended extensively by the state of israel which claims that it warned civilians to flee.

as well, despite both amnesty international and human rights watch accusing israel of war crimes in the assault, former commander of british forces in afghanistan col. richard kemp has stated that the IDF did more to diminish civilian casualities than "any other army in the history of warfare."

the head of breaking the silence, yehuda shaul(a veteran of the IDF), says that

"Very few soldiers ever heard in the briefings, `Guys – be careful about innocent people...That's the most disturbing and disappointing thing." he notes that this particular invasion of gaza was a marked departure from previous IDF practices, stating:

"Cast Lead was something different...we had an opening-fire policy... `You see something you're scared of – you shoot...' we were shocked, this is not the IDF I know."

when one soldier is asked to sum up his overall reaction to the three week operation, the toronto star reporter writes that he "waxed philosophical" when the soldier responded:

"how people are able to watch others die or suffer, how terribly easily you can grow indifferent to this. It's like you can turn yourself off, the guy's dead, let's move on."

unfortunately, what this book reveals is that soldiers respond in a way that is completely opposite to the philosophical: they live the reality of being unable to feel empathy for another human being, they feel indifferent to being responsible for death or suffering, and that probably that kind of desensitization doesn't just stay in the war zone.

there are a lot of blogs etc that post pictures or stories of IDF soldiers helping palestinians: shaking their hands and dressing their wounds. of course this happens. IDF soldiers are people as well(not to mention that they have mega public relations probably), but when captions on pictures are labelled "IDF soldier pets palestinian cat" we have to wonder how far people are willing to stretch to prove the soldier's humanity when governments and militaries do so little to protect that humanity in the first place.

"jason kenny, you ain't no alexander the great"

if you haven't heard george galloway's speech yet, you should click HERE and listen to it.

galloway is right, by banning him from canada and trying to censor what he might say and what his audience might learn jason kenny has only increased the number of people who will go to great lengths to protect galloway's right to speak and their own right to listen.

it's amazing to me that jason kenny can do something so "not credible" and not even have to justify his decision. you can't censor with impunity, or at least you shouldn't able to.

as galloway puts it in his speech:

"are you too cowardly to face the public and defend your views and the way you are betraying all that was great about canada, all the values that canada represented in the world."

kenny is cowardly. unfortunately, even cowardly politicians have the power to do sneaky and regressive things unless the public calls them on it.

i think the public did call kenny on this one and the number of people who tuned in to watch galloway's speech via the internet proves that kenny's days of getting away with this bullshit are numbered.