Israel acts like a terrorist nation: Palestinians facing genocide. Protests in Washington DC

Photo Al Jazeera

Looking at the photos of the destruction caused by Israel in the Gaza strip, anyone can realize that the Israel government wants to destroy the Palestinian state, at all cost. This is all about politics, religion and racism.

Politics: the reason why Israel is attacking Gaza right now is because they have upcoming political elections. Simple as that.

Religion: the Zionist fanatics -they don't represent all Jewish people in the world, by the way- want to take over the land of Palestinians, because they believe their God gave them that territory. They hate Muslims as much as radical Muslims hate them.

Racism: look at the US and Israel newspapers and see if any of them talk about the Palestinians suffering genocide for almost a century. No, Palestinians and other Arab people don't count for them. Europeans are still invading the land of non-white people, like they have doing it for centuries.

Israel is a country that was created by Great Britain, the US and the Zionist movement, and it's located in the land of the Palestinian Arab people, who obviously would do anything to free themselves.

Who is a terrorist?

Israel kills Palestinians in a 8:1 ratio every year, even shooting children for throwing rocks at soldiers, but they accuse Hamas and other groups as "terrorists" the same way Nelson Mandela was accused once by the old South African government.

Israel has set an economic blockade against Palestinians pushing them to starve and die of curable diseases. Now, they are bombing the Gaza strip with over 3.5 million people trapped without a way to escape!

Israel receives $3 billion dollars from the US government (taxpayers money) per year, and almost all of it goes to its military. They even use American tanks, warplanes and nukes.

In other words, Israel is terrorizing the Palestinians, with the support of the US government. Innocent people are being killed because they want their land back, they even want to share their land with Jewish people.

Can someone put an end to this madness now?


Protests againts Israel attacks in Washington, DC

Two days of continuous protests occurred in DC, but very few media stations have talked about it. Americans are fed up and some people went to Obama's transition office in DC. but I wonder if president elect Barack Obama will deliver at all, and THAT would be a true tragedy.

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Related posts

• Obama speech at the AIPAC raises questions and mixed feelings
• Obama and Clinton are not friends of Blacks, workers and oppressed people
• Your tax money goes to Colombia to fund wars and paramilitaries

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Israel coward attacks on Gaza: protest today at Barack Obama's transitional office

Israel must stop its terrorist attacks against Palestinian innocent civilians. The state of Israel is ready to invade Gaza and take over the land that Palestinians have owned for centuries, and that is why they have isolated Palestinians from getting international aid for years. The worst of it is that Americans tax money is being used to finance these criminal actions!

The recent unjustified attacks on Gaza have also to do with the upcoming elections and politics in Israel, rather than to protect Jewish people from Hamas, which -regardless of the US State Department accusations- is a political party elected democratically by the majority of Palestinians.

President elect Barack Obama run in a platform of change, so it's time for the US government to stop financing the abusive military actions of Israel. Hundreds of innocent civilians have been killed and thousands are injured for life.

Join a protests today at Barack Obama's Transitional Office in Washington, DC:

Protest at Barack Obama's Transitional Office
TODAY at 4:30 PM until 8:00 PM

451 6th Street, NW
Washington, DC

A block away from the Verizon Center in Chinatown.
Metro Stations: Gallery Place Chinatown, Judiciary Square, Archives Navy Memorial


Forward this email, post it on MySpace and invite people on Facebook




The Palestinian tragedy
Al Jazeera reports from Gaza












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Last minute Holiday shopping in Washington, DC became a true adventure and a lesson learned

One of the things I don’t like about the holiday season is shopping. Simply because I am usually broke at the end of each year, but mostly because I don't like big crowds and malls. No, no. For that matter, I try to stay indoors most of times until the whole Christmas/ Navidad / Kwanzaa / Hanukah craze is over.

But as always happens, I get into the spirit of holiday sharing at the last minute. So I ended up running to get stuff for my best friends and relatives. Not that I believe that material gifts are that important, but a kind present always brings a smile to anyone, and that is priceless.

So I would like to share some shopping spots I found in the last few days -not the conventional huge and inhuman malls. Although only one is still open but you can still contact all of these retailers on the Internet.

These are the places I enjoyed very much during these days of holiday shopping, in a time when the economy is so bad, these were ideal places for me.

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Annual BZB Holiday Gift Art Show: held this year at the DC Convention Center, it had plenty of good stuff made mostly by African Americans, including collectible dolls, cards, art paintings, sculptures, toys, clothes, beauty supplies, jewelry, books, shoes, hats, and Black collectibles and memorabilia. I took these photos and recorded a video that I will post later.

Since this fair has also already closed, check their website here.

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Vintage N°5 : is a cute store run by my friend Sylvia, who is originally from Bolivia but has spent most of her life in Washington, DC. She is a well known neighbor of the Adams Morgan section of DC. Her little store is conveniently located in Georgetown, at the 3rd floor of 1023 Wisconsin Avenue, NW at the corner with M Street, NW.

Sylvia says "we have vintage gowns, dresses, perfect for all occasions, sequins, velvet, rhinestones, shoes, purses, shawls, large sizes, costume jewelry from $1 dollar and up. Come and have fun".

Photo Moohoop

Moohoop, a DC blogger and a very cool fashionista has described Vintage # 5 as:

"The space was pretty small and cluttered, but cute. Lots of sequined stuff, handbags and jewelry. Most items were priced from the single digits to maybe $20 or so dollars. Quite a few items, however, didn't have price tags -- which means bargaining, which means.. sad times for me. BUT.

I was talking to the owner, and she was very happy when I asked if I could take pictures and blog about the shop. Vintage N°5 is such an undiscovered little gem is Georgetown, and it's a shame they don't get more business."

Check out photos here. Also check the post that DCFred wrote about this store.


Sylvia is at the store mostly on weekends, but call her if you want to stop by: (202) 380-8456. I heard she might close down the store by 2009... perhaps she will move to a cheaper and more convenient location. I hope so.

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DC’s Downtown Holiday Market at the American Art & Portrait Museum: this is a small but very diverse outdoors fair, with tons of different stuff, mostly hand made and very original items. It’s located between 7th and 9th streets in NW.

There I found three friends of mine: Hector, Patricia and Vilma, who are from Peru and who sell Peruvian art items: clothing, handcrafts and toys mostly from the Andes region including items made with Alpaca fiber.

Unfortunately, the DC’s Downtown Holiday Market runs until today December 23, 2008. More info about the organizers here. If you want to get Peruvian art stuff, check Hector store, and Patricia and Vilma business online.

Music at the market

One of the days I visited this market I enjoyed the music of Kamel and the Gibraltar Boyz, a music group that sounded a lot like Peruvian music: they even had a Peruvian Cajon (wooden box) drum.

But these guys are actually from Algeria and Morocco, and they fusion the music of different ethnic groups of Northern Africa, using several languages including Berber, Arabic, French, English and Spanish. They sound very Jazzy and Gypsy at the same time –perhaps both are synonymous, right.

[Video coming up soon...]

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African American Holiday Market: was held at the Reeves Center at the corner of 14th Street NW and U Street. It had plenty of good stuff, mostly home made and art related to African American history and culture. Not surprisingly, there was a lot of Obama memorabilia -the president-elect is a semi God already for many- and also a lot of smiling people.

Unfortunately the place didn’t have a sign outside that would attract more customers, and I heard that sales were not so good. Another sign of times with the economy in such a bad shape. But if you want to contact the organizers and their retailers -they have other events during the year- then check this website.

I will post a video about this fair later on.

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Lesson learned

Because I am agnostic, I don't follow religions but I try to respect them. Knowing that Jesus Christ of Nazareth wasn't born on December 25th, and that neither Santa Klaus is real, I have very few reasons to celebrate during the Holiday season. One of those reasons is the spirit of people, the smiles and the friendly gatherings. The feeling that the world is not all fucked up already: it make it all worth it.

Wishing you all a very rewarding and gifted Holiday Season, maybe I will write again next year, or even before. Until then, try to have some fun these days -it's all about what you make of them.





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West Side Story at the National Theater in Washington DC: a racist play with a bad ending

We decided to go on a “date” and he mentioned a play. But he wasn’t sure to make it since he had other events to attend. Right after knowing that he had been invited to give a speech at the beginning of the play, I sort of convinced him to go. “It should be fun seeing you there” I said.

Then he mentioned the play’s name: West Side Story. All I heard of it was about a boring Broadway show, with some Puerto Ricans characters dreaming of becoming part of the so-called American life, or something like that. No, this won't be fun. I thought.

Thanks to the cute usher for the photo!

My friend and I arrived at DC's National Theater on time, and the place was crowded and very bright, everyone was excited since it was the premiere night. A very tall man welcomed my friend, and when I tried to shake his hand - he looked the other way and just ignored me. "Oh no he didn't..."

A group of people stood by my friend to say hello – you see, he is a public figure and people like him a lot (with obvious reasons) but sometimes those people seem to just ignore me. That fact is fine with me, as I am a shy person. But oh yes, I forgot to mention: he is white European and I am brown Native Peruvian. And yes, I am a very extra sensitive queer.

Once inside I decided to take a photo of my friend with the tall man. They were delighted. Then as my friend was invited to walk up to the stage -you know for the speech- he asked me to follow him at all times.

At some point a woman appeared out of nowhere, and she ordered me to follow her. No actually, she commanded me: “You need to come this way!” in a rude fashion. Since my friend had asked me not to leave him, I just kept walking. Once backstage, the lady kept chasing me saying that I had to go with her because "You can’t take photos backstage!" she yelled –again in a veeery rude way. After my friend nodded and during a very confusing moment, I followed the weird woman.

“Lady I am not here to take photos... I am on a damn date” I thought.

I ended up standing all the way in the back of the theater, around some TV cameras and a group of very handsome ushers. I thought: "Why the fuck am I here? I should be with my friend..." but it was too late. By then, the theater was full and my friend was about to come out.

The rude lady –she looked whiter and freaked out this time, and her curly black hair was hanging like fettuccine pasta- reminded me "This is a very serious production and you can’t just walk back there!" Get a life lady...

I was about to leave the place, but instead I convinced a very attentive usher to take my photo. It wasn't a good idea considering the lights were down, but I guess I was trying to get distracted from the negativity around me. This time, another woman walks towards me: "You need to sit down right now!"

The play starts, I am seating in the middle of the room, I feel very disturbed, disrespected. Few minutes later, my friend joins me: “You should have stayed with me, I met all the cast members back there…” I am angry.

Oh yes, the play

West Side Story is a play about an interracial love relationship set in New York City: he is white (Polish ?) and she is Puerto Rican. They meet in the middle of some disputes among gangs in the city – in the beginning of the 1950’s.

As I am seating there, I just realized that I am part of an interracial couple, sort of.

The play starts, the cast members look great but not convincing me of being NYC 50 years ago. The actors -again- are very sexy and in great shape, and they dressed like models from The Gap or Abercrombie and… I thought they didn’t look like NYC kids in the 1950's so much. Perhaps.

The stage design looks very elaborated and convincing, the lighting was very well done, the sound was alright – I got the impression the singers were lip singing though. Still, the voices were nice to hear.

The leading actress (Maria) is a white girl from Argentina -What? Isn't there a single talented Nuyorican actress in the whole US to do the role?... Not to discriminate, but imagine if Jennifer Lopez does Evita or any other play about a Buenos Aires girl, in Argentina. Streets blockades and protests would occur probably, like it happened years ago with Madonna and her silly movie.

The crowd –mostly white Americans- seemed to enjoy the play. They are quiet.

Suddenly, two Puerto Rican girls appear on stage and people starts laughing, for no obvious reason. Hahaha. Well, that’s how the whole play goes on: every time a Puerto Rican character talks, walks, moves, breathes – never mind what they do- people just laughs, they celebrate how funny ways those “latinos” are. How funny?

I am angrier. I am trying hard to be calm and to enjoy the moment, but there is nothing to enjoy.

After 15 minutes, I am ready to go. My friend asked me to stay: "They invited us for drinks at the intermission…" By us, he meant “me” but he is trying to be polite and inclusive...?

The play goes on. It's so childish: kids dancing and jumping around, following a script proper of some Walt Disney production. It is so machista: bad boys trying to be bad, while women are so submissive (I know, it used to be that way…) It is so racist: white people showing how tough they can be while making Puerto Ricans look dumb, violent and comical. Words like "spic" are mentioned shamelessly and the word "immigrant" is said as an insult. Disgusting, tough call - someone said.

The intermission starts, I followed my friend. We go into an office where an old white man invites the small group to come in and seat down – except me. It seems that some people just don’t see me – hello? They all get drinks, while I am standing at the door very invisible. My friend looks at me and he is aware of my misfortune (Can you do something?). I prefer to made a signal to him “I am leaving…”

As I walked out of the theater I run into some of the play’s team members. I shout "your play is racist" and rushed into the street. Man! I needed to breathe some air, I needed to free myself and get away from a party I was so uninvited. I had no business there.

Yes, it was an awful date and it was truly a Northwest DC side story: racism is still alive in America, especially in its capitol city where hypocrisy is a talent, and a shallow mind is a strength for some. Not for me.

I saw my friend the next day, we are still talking. But I am not going to another ridiculously-stupid-play with him. And no, I won't get over my race issues: I deserve the same respect that I give to people, regardless of how they look - it's how I was raised and I refuse to become like some "Americans" and accept their wrong doing.

And if you want my advice, I suggest you don't waste your money in this play, unless you love cheesy bad theater with great music.

By the way, for the fans (not me) the WSS has its own website.


Actualization

January 4, 2009.

I must add to this post the fact that my perception of the play is entirely personal and I can't force anyone to side with my concepts about race, identity, culture, art, music, and dance. I know what I like, even when I don't know everything.

But I want to explain why I wrote this post.

West Side Story is a cute version of interracial couples, a story that is Ok. for some as long as we (the non white people) play the roles set for us. For instance, would WSS be a success among white people, if the main male character was Puerto Rican, and the female was white? For some, it's a way to content everyone. But as time passes, the concept of racial equality has reached another perspective. What I see is that even in the most anti-racist attempts, there is still some hidden racism in America... and this happens as we enter the Obama-age.

The Washington Post published yesterday a front-page article titled "A West Side Story That Finally Speaks to Latinos". The article seems like an attempt of the Washingtonian-establishment to attract a favorable opinion about the play. It contains reviews from Puerto Ricans -mostly- who seem to be content with the fact that with this play, they are part of white people's world.

The article focused on the fact that the play is bilingual. So what? Most people of South, Central and Caribbean America, who live in the US, we speak and understand English. And don't say a thing about accents because everyone has one. And most of their US-born children hardly use Spanish. Things have changed, so adding bad Spanish (I feel pretty should be translated ME siento hermosa) is just one a meaningless thing.

Finally, the WP insists in calling us Latinos and Hispanics. It is a terrible mistake made by white Americans decades ago, and that eventually will fail. Latino means southern European, and Hispanic relates to the nationality of Spaniards.

In reality, most of the people from Mexico to Chile are descendants of the original Native peoples of this continent, one third are Black Afro descendants, and a minority are Europeans (not only Spanish), Arabs, Asians, east Indians, etc. We are a rainbow of cultures and races, but we are certainly not Latinos nor Hispanics only.

Some theater lovers think that because WSS has a great music and dancing content, it should be celebrated by all. I don't think so. Puerto Ricans are presented in this play -and all Spanish-speaking immigrants by association- as some bad ass gangsters and poor dumb kids who want to be like white people. It is bad theater presented in a fancy way. Just the way American history has being written, especially when it comes to racial issues.

The alternative? Respect, see each others as equals, and stop writing plays about other people's cultures without including their true voices.










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Gangs in El Salvador started in the US: documentary film shows Native American and Black youth violence

Ross Kemp is a British actor and journalist who have traveled around the world reporting on gangs. His documentaries are fascinating -except when he displays that annoying British arrogance- and they specialized in extremely violent gangs around the world. His documentaries describe the origins of gangs and explore the human side of those unjustified conflicts that cause thousands of deaths annually.

Kemp has traveled to investigate gangs in Los Angeles and Orange County (US), Rio de Janeiro, New Zealand, London and Liverpool (UK), Saint Louis (US), San Salvador, Cape Town (South Africa), Moscow, Kingston (Jamaica), Dili (East Timor), Gorsow (Poland), Colombia, Bulgaria, Belize, Kenya and Afghanistan. The results are four extraordinary series titled Ross Kemp on Gangs, with more to come.

This video was recorded in El Salvador. After watching this 45-min. documentary, you will understand much better what is happening to Native American and Afro descendant youth involved in gangs - not only in El Salvador but also in the US, Mexico, Central and South America. The problem of youth violence among Indigenous peoples runs from Canada all the way to Chile actually.

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Just wondering

Are these gangs being a result of isolated social conflicts in poor urban areas in the world? Or perhaps they are created and promoted by armaments producers and mafias who run illegal trafficking in those places? Why is that mostly non-white people are involved in gangs? Finally, what is the responsibility of the United States and European countries in the worldwide gangs crisis?

Watch more episodes of "Ross Kemp on Gangs" and about 120 other great free documentary films at the FreeDocumentaries site






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Haitian slaves gets maimed in the Dominican Republic for "being lazy" - please take action!

Haitian man in the Dominican Republic
Photo by Patrick Andre Perron

These images are too graphic, please watch with discretion as this video is not suitable for sensitive viewers.

Racist practices occurring in the Dominican Republic against the people of Haiti are horrendous signs of human decadency and criminal behavior. Although both countries share the same island in the Caribbean, but their governments and elites are keeping their people -mostly African descendants- separated by racial hate and violence.

This is what happens in the Dominican Republic to Haitian workers: a bracero farmer is accused of "being lazy" and gets both hands maimed with a machete:

Update - December 11, 2008: This video has been removed by Youtube. I am aware the images were very disturbing, but I posted it because the world needs to know what is happening in the Dominican Republic. Please take action! Read at the end of this post to see what you can do.

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This video was sent to me by email by a Haitian man. There is not confirmed information about the source of the video, but the man with a machete is Dominican -his accent in Spanish is very obvious- and the worker is Haitian.

The person who sent this video says that there is an investigation going on:

"The person who originally sent it is also looking for information about the video, what part of the country in the DR, the circumstances, who, what, when, and why. We have to put pressure on the Dominican government to investigate this crime."

Watch the video in CNN

This video is also posted in CNN Ireport where the author says:

"all this information i'm provided i want it to be confidential please for security purpose. You might hear sometimes how bad is the relationship between haitian and dominican but now this video show you what it means for haitian to leave there. in every part of the world there is crime but this shown in this video is typycally what i called a hate crime. anyway i receive a forwarded mail and i was shocked when i saw the video to see how we are treated here like slaves. so that i think it's time for the world to tell the dominican press to stop encouraging anti-haitianism and even some official government"

This article is written by a Dominican woman of Haitian heritage, and posted by The Guatemalan Times on December 05, 2008.

Ethnic Cleansing in the Caribbean
Sonia Pierre

Santo Domingo - I am a native-born citizen of the Dominican Republic. I grew up, went to school, started a family, and raised my children on Dominican soil. This is the only place I have ever called home. Yet, after more than 45 years in this country, my nationality -along with that of thousands of other Dominicans - is being called into question.
Like many Dominicans, I am of Haitian ancestry. My family came to the Dominican Republic from neighboring Haiti to find work. Their journey was not uncommon, nor was it discouraged. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians came to work in this country with the express permission of the Dominican government.

But Dominicans like me have always paid a price for our ancestry. For more than a century, the government has promoted a policy of state-sponsored racial discrimination. We have been used as scapegoats to shift the focus away from the country's economic and political problems.

Even so, one lesson I learned growing up was that any person born in the Dominican Republic is a Dominican citizen. This no one questioned. This no one doubted. The Dominican Republic's constitution says explicitly that anyone born on the country's territory, except infants born to parents who happen to be diplomats or foreigners "in transit" - understood for decades to mean in the country for fewer than 10 days - is a Dominican citizen.

Because of this, I never worried that my status as a citizen would ever be in doubt.

I was wrong.

Two years ago, my country's government attempted to strip me of my nationality, and it is now trying to do the same to thousands of other Dominicans of Haitian descent. The government launched this effort with a bizarre reinterpretation of the constitution. It now deems individuals of Haitian descent born in the Dominican Republic to have no right to Dominican nationality, because their parents or grandparents, many of them residents for years, if not decades, were supposedly "in transit."

The government has ordered civil registry officers to refrain from issuing any identity documents for persons who were born to "foreign parents" and received Dominican birth certificates under what the government now calls "irregular circumstances." Moreover, identity documents that the Dominican state already issued are being declared invalid retroactively.

Only Dominicans of Haitian descent are being singled out. The discrimination by my country's government against my racial and ethnic group is so blatant that some civil registry offices have distributed lists of "Haitian sounding names" so that staff members can recognize them. Some people are even singled out based solely on their appearance. The crudeness of the government's campaign would almost be comical if it was not condemning so many Dominicans of Haitian descent to the uncertainty of statelessness.

Indeed, the implications of losing one's citizenship are enormous. Without identity documents, people are barred from schools, denied health care, prevented from marrying, and refused official documents like birth certificates and driver's licenses.

Worse still, the government is considering a constitutional amendment that would permanently strip nationality rights from thousands of Dominican of Haitian descent. The situation now is even more dangerous than before.

For 30 years, I have worked to secure equal human and civil rights for Dominicans of Haitian descent. I have encountered many personal and professional difficulties. State officials have slandered me. Informants have tried to infiltrate my organization and undermine its work. I have received death threats on more than one occasion, and my children and I have had to flee our homeland.

But, despite everything I have endured, I remain hopeful that change is possible.

Perhaps the campaign against Dominicans of Haitian descent will stop when the Dominican judiciary acknowledges that the retroactive denial of citizenship violates fundamental human rights law. Perhaps it will stop when the international community starts speaking out against the Dominican Republic's discriminatory policies. But one thing is certain: it won't stop until all Dominicans who value democracy and the rule of law stand alongside their fellow citizens and declare that the time for unequal treatment is over.

Sonia Pierre, the head of the Movement for Dominican Women of Haitian Descent, was raised in a migrant worker camp and arrested at age 13 for leading a march to demand rights for sugarcane cutters. She was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in 2007.

Haitian exploitation in the Dominican Republic
AlJazeera reports

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Take action!

Contact the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in the United States, and let them know you are aware of the situation of Haitian workers in the DR. Ask them to stop this crimes against humanity!

Embassy of the Dominican Republic

1715 22nd Street, NW
Washington DC 20008

Tel: 202-332-6280
202-939-0971
Fax:202-265-8057
embassy@us.serex.gov.do

For Consular Information
202-332-6280 Ext. 2522
consular@us.serex.gov.do

Contact Senator Hillary Rodhman Clinton:

The appointed Secretary of State by President-elect Barack Obama must be aware of this outrageous situation. Please email her office here.

Join pickets at the Dominican Republic Consulate in NYC:

A group of Haitians and friend of Haiti hold monthly protests every FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH at the DR Consulate: 1501 Broadway, New York City, between 43rd and 44th Strets, from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm.

Please spread the word and do something.





Related posts

• Haiti and the Dominican Republic
• Gustav causes destruction and death in Haiti Cuba and Mexico
• How you can help victims of hurrican Gustav in the Gulf coast

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Three days to help Vanessa Loza

The daughter of South American immigrants is representing the United States in a sports world championship.

Only 3 days left to help!

Vanessa Loza is a first generation American, her mother is Colombian and her father is Ecuadorian. Vanessa Loza will represent the United States at the 2nd World Wushu Junior Competition in Indonesia by November 7 to 14, 2008.

Wushu is a sport and martial art originated in China as a means for self-defense and physical training, embodying the philosophical connotation of attack and defense.

Please go to this link and consider making a donation. Anything will help, five dollars, one dollar - let's do this!

Vanessa needs our support.

Please go to this link and make a donation!


Thanks so much, and please spread the word.



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