LEBANON - URGENT ACTION ALERT!

[Oscar]

LEBANON - URGENT ACTION ALERT!

July 30, 2006

Dear Friends,

As the horror unfolds in Lebanon, with hundreds, perhaps thousands of people dead and buried in the rubble, and the country’s infrastructure smashed, many Canadians caught in the cross fire, and some (like one of our peace keepers) bombed, many of us feel the need to act to stop the outrage. I have prepared a brief Urgent Action Alert for Canadians, directed at the derelict and complicit Canadian government which has encouraged Israel to keep bombing a helpless population. We need to be able to combat our own helplessness (which I feel deeply, too) by knowing and acting, and I hope the suggestions below will help us to be better informed and more effective in our actions.

Marjaleena Repo
mrepo@sasktel.net
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Urgent Action Alert!

ON THE BOMBING OF LEBANON

The bombing MUST stop and there has to be IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE on both sides!

Canada’s political parties need to put their mouths where the lives of Lebanese are: without delay or hesitation, the Liberals and the New Democrats must put extreme and visible pressure on the Harper regime to CEASE AND DESIST from offering the Israeli government a green light to keep bombing Lebanon into the stone age.

Canadians don’t support collective punishment on a whole people and a nation, for the actions of a few! NOTHING justifies the wholesale killing of people and the destruction of their cities, towns and villages so as to make the country unliveable for decades to come.

CONTACT
Liberal leader Bill Graham at Graham.B@parl.gc.ca
(tel 613-996-6740, fax 613-947-0310), and
NDP leader Jack Layton at Layton.J@parl.gc.ca
(tel 613-995-7224 fax 613-995-4565)
or any and all opposition politicians who can make a difference.
Don’t ignore your “own” MP, no matter what party.
(You can find contact information for politicians, senators and Members of Parliament at
http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/index.asp?Language=E
or by calling toll free 1-800-O-Canada (622-6232).

Your protest of Mr. Harper’s callous actions in support of crimes against humanity — including our own citizens! — can go directly to his office,
by phone 613-992-4211, fax at 613-941-6900,
e-mail at pm@pm.gc.ca or
write the Office of the Prime Minister, 80 Wellington Street, Ottawa, K1A 0A2 (no stamp needed).
(Always send a copy to the opposition politicians, too.)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR can also have an impact, as they tell other readers that they are not alone in their concerns. Make them short and to the point, so there is a real chance that they will be published. Send them to many newspapers.

BE INFORMED: The internet can give us the information that is so clearly and sorely missing from all our media. Who needs the barrage of lies when you can get the truth!

Go to Global Research
(http://www.globalresearch.ca)
and Information Clearinghouse
(http:// www.informationclearinghouse.info)
for detailed and reliable information about the crisis, compiled from a variety of sources. You will be able to subscribe and get a daily mailout. Pass the information to others who might not have internet access, because the mainstream media has nothing comparable. Let these internet publishers know you support their work!

Electronic Lebanon
http://www.electronicintifada.net/lebanon/ is a lifeline of direct news and analysis of the situation in the suffering country and region.

AntiWar.com has a steady flow of tough articles critical of U.S. actions in the world — and from a conservative perspective! (They see the neocons in power in their country destroying not only America but the world.)

ACTION:
The Canadian Peace Alliance,
http:www.acp-pa.ca/en/Palestineaction.htm
has a list of ongoing activities to protest the Israeli attack on Lebanon and the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza. Every community has a network of people and organizations for peace in the Middle East, and make sure you plug in with them.

For united action, by Jews and Palestinians, the following show the way to a peaceful resolution for the longstanding “troubles” of the Middle East:

Israeli/Palestine Center for Research and Information (in Israel) http://www.ipcri.org/ (Also has amazing links to other similar groups.)

Jewish Women’s Committee to End the Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza (in Toronto)
http://www.hostultra.com/~jwceo/jwceo4/

Jews for a Just Peace (in Vancouver)
http://www.jewsforajustpeace.com/

Jews Against the Occupation (in New York)
http://www.jatonyc.org/

The Montreal Dialogue Group at
http://www.dialoguegroup.org/ also has a petition titled, “Shame on you, Mr. Harper!” which you can sign with your comments.
You can find it at
www.petitionspot.com/petitions/me2006/s ... start=100#
where you can print it and e-mail it to others.
www.acp-cpa.ca/en/Palestineaction.htm

This information was compiled by Marjaleena Repo who can be reached at mrepo@sasktel.net or (306) 244-9724 in Saskatoon.
Your feedback and suggestions welcome.

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30/7/06

Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:28 pm Post subject: Elizabeth May ON THE BOMBING OF LEBANON

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Re: ON THE BOMBING OF LEBANON

As a candidate for leadership of the Green Party of Canada, you have my full support.

Israeli bombing is doing what Hezbollah violence could not do on its own: create massive public support for Hezbollah throughout Lebanon. Only a cease fire can prevent long-term damage through the creation of new volunteers for Hezbollah, as well as prevent the anguish of more loss of innocent life.

By the way, former President Bill Clinton spoke very forcefully in Halifax on the 26th of July of the totally unnecessary targeting of the Beirut airport, a new $500 million airport and the pride of the new Lebanon. Not only has it blocked a civilian escape route, it is punitive and vindictive to destroy such vital infrastructure. Yes, I weep more for toddlers than airports, but for all the talk of Hezbollah hiding among civilians, no one has claimed Hezbollah was hiding in the airport.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth May, O.C.
Leadership Candidate
Green Party of Canada
www.elizabethmay.ca

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Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 2:18 pm Post subject: What happened to peacekeeping Canada?

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What happened to our neutral peacekeeping Canada?

August 3, 2006

Rather than just watching this all play out, I thought I'd take the time to share some information.

Please don't assume I'm taking sides. I am taking offense to our Prime Minister taking sides. He and Peter MacKay are likely doing what they think is right, and are doing their best to lead our country. Unfortunately their leadership is not the kind I want. The Aug 1st story below is a good update and summary of what's going on right now in Canada.

Stephen Harper & Peter MacKay have not asked for an immediate ceasefire, even though much of the international community has. On the contrary Harper stated that this is a 'measured response' by Israel. Peter went so far as to belittle the situation that Canadians and Lebanese civilians are in by stating that 'Hezbollah is a cancer that must be wiped out.' (see link below)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/
RTGAM.20060801.wmackay0801/BNStory/National/

What happened to our neutral peacekeeping Canada?

I say war is a cancer that must be wiped out. The Hezbollah is a symptom of the fear, hatred and intolerance that leads to war, and Israel's actions are examples of the fear, hatred and intolerance that leads to war. Fear, hatred & intolerance can never be justfied or called a measured response to previous fear, hatred & intolerance. This may be oversimplified, but how complex does an analysis need to be? The fear, hatred & intolerance of both sides goes back to before the creation of Israel in 1948 (you can even read about it in the Bible & the Koran - no kidding), and has gone on ever since.

I'm very frustrated that our Prime Minister did not call for an immediate ceasefire.

Cameron Wigmore
Alberta