Netanyahu, Romney, and the Imminent “October Surprise”

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Written by Gilbert Schramm Gilbert Schramm

Published: 28 August 2012 28 August 2012

On August 20th, the Israel Times reported that Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu “is determined to attack Iran before the US elections.” The report also said that Netanyahu was not waiting for a meeting with President Obama next month and that Obama could say little to convince him to delay a possible attack. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak both believe Obama would have no choice but to support an Israeli attack before the US presidential elections in November.

So our supposed “ally” (we give them 7 million dollars a day) will try to give Americans “no choice” about going to war on the eve of an election. I hope Americans understand the gravity of this situation—and the cynicism behind it. As reported in “The Blaze” of August 20th, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey “had reiterated Sunday night his previously-stated position that an Israeli military strike will only delay Iran’s nuclear program, not totally destroy it…This also appears to be the opinion of Israeli officials…” The Israel Times report also noted that in Israel there is considerable opposition to an Israeli strike on Iran. President Shimon Peres, the army’s chief and top generals, the intelligence community, the opposition leader, and the Americans, are all lined up against Israeli action at this stage. Unfortunately, Netanyahu will make the final call. Apparently he is already making the case for war to his coalition allies.

Read more: Netanyahu, Romney, and the Imminent “October Surprise”

Join the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation in St. Louis, MO!

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Written by US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Published: 14 August 2012 14 August 2012

Join the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation in St. Louis, MO!

Register by August 21 to take advantage of $80 registration and special conference rates for hotels.

Join us September 21-23, 2012 for our 11th Annual National Organizers' Conference at St. Louis University.

Our conference is an opportunity for our member groups and activists from across the country to come together and strengthen our efforts to end U.S. support for Israeli occupation and apartheid policies toward Palestinians. With nearly 400 groups part of our coalition, this year's conference will be a great opportunity for networking and strategizing around BDS, opposing U.S. military aid to Israel, and changing U.S. policy to support human rights, international law, and equality. We hope you will be able to join us!

We will start the conference at 7:00pm on Friday, September 21 with a panel discussion on the Arab uprisings and their impact on organizing to change U.S. policy toward Palestine/Israel. Our speakers will include Dr. Hatem Bazian, Chairman of American Muslims for Palestine, and Phyllis Bennis, Director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.

Our Saturday night session will feature a performance by Palestinian-American poet and activist Remi Kanazi, author of Poetic Injustice: Writings on Resistance and Palestine. 

The weekend's program will include panels and workshops discussing:

Engaging Faith Communities
Consumer Boycotts
Campus Activism
Academic and Cultural Boycott Initiatives
Organizing and Coalition Building
Connecting Palestine to Other Movements
Long Range Strategic Planning for the US Campaign 
Detailed program information will be posted as it becomes available. We plan to end the conference by 3:00pm on Sunday, September 23. RSVP on Facebook and follow @US_Campaign on Twitter to get updates.

The conference will be taking place at the Busch Student Center of St. Louis University (20 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO  63103).

Contact Ramah Kudaimi at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any questions or if you are a student interested in a discounted registration fee and are willing to volunteer.

Go to the US Campaign's website for more links and information: http://www.endtheoccupation.org/section.php?id=403

Olympia food co-op defendants awarded $160,000

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Written by JEREMY PAWLOSKI JEREMY PAWLOSKI

Published: 12 July 2012 12 July 2012

http://mondoweiss.net/2012/02/whos-who-behind-the-olympia-food-co-op-lawsuit-2.html


http://www.theolympian.com/2012/07/12/2171566/olympia-food-co-op-defendants.html

Olympia food co-op defendants awarded $160,000

A group of five Olympia Food Co-op members who had sued to overturn the store's boycott of Israeli goods must pay $160,000 in damages as a result of a judge's prior ruling that the lawsuit was an illegal "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation," or SLAPP.

SLAPPs are defined as nuisance lawsuits that are designed to stifle free speech and create onerous legal costs for those who choose to exercise their free speech rights. SLAPPs are illegal under a state law that the defendants' attorney, Bruce Johnson and another staff attorney at Davis Wright Tremaine helped draft.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Thomas McPhee ruled Thursday on the issue of damages that each of the 16 defendants are entitled to under Washington's anti-SLAPP statute. He ruled that each of the 16 defendants - all current or former co-op board members who voted to enact the boycott in July, 2010 - are entitled to $10,000 each.

Olympia Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement member Andrew Meyer said Thursday that McPhee's award recognizes that the Olympia Co-op acted within its rights to boycott Israeli goods until Israel secures "equal, civil and human rights for Palestinians."

Read more: Olympia food co-op defendants awarded $160,000

Tell Congress: Spend Our Money at Home, Not on the Israeli Military

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Written by US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Published: 04 July 2012 04 July 2012

The Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel, a member group of the US Campaign, put up 23 billboards like this in the Los Angeles area a few weeks ago.

As you can see, CBS Outdoor, the billboard company, then promptly took them down.

Why? Perhaps it had something to do with Rep. Howard Berman complaining about them in a press release.

Berman was agitated because he “must drive past” the billboards  “every morning.” And, as Berman noted, he believes that he was elected to Congress by his constituents “in large part to fight for a stronger U.S.-Israel relationship. This has been, and will continue to be one [of] my top legislative priorities in Congress.”

Sign this petition to Rep. Berman telling him that you support the message in these billboards. Help us get 10,000 signatures and we'll creatively deliver the petition to him.


Dear Rep. Berman,

I support the message in the Los Angeles billboards about which you recently complained: Spend Our Money at Home, Not on the Israeli Military!