Sunday, December 21, 2008

Winter 2008 - Annie's published letters & online comments


Mainstream media work... Help free Palestine with positive thoughts and efforts: As always (for good stories, and honest stories that help explain the very real plight of the Palestinians) PLEASE go to the link to read the story in full- to help let the newspaper know the story is popular- and to help bring in ad revenue for those newspapers who dare publish Palestinian perspectives... & feel free to write the newspaper a comment, note or formal letter.

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Houston Chronicle
12-22-8
RE: Arab Christians try to revive Holy Land village, Leaders work to attract more tourists, residents By ROBERT W. GEE
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/6174677.html#
comment I left online http://www.chron.com/disp/discuss.mpl/world/6174677.html

Dear Editor,

Thank you for publishing the revealing story "Arab Christians try to revive Holy Land village, Leaders work to attract more tourists, residents" by ROBERT W. GEE

So much of life - and our ability to survive really does come down to economics... and it is horrifying, utterly barbaric and wrong that the indigenous people of historic Palestine have been impoverished and displaced since the establishment of Israel in 1948.

I hope and I pray that Taybeh's children can return and flourish, along with all the many other Palestinian men, women and children who have been pushed into forced exile.

And if anyone is considering a trip to the Holy Land, I suggest they start by being aware of the importance of responsible tourism.

One can even be an armchair tourist to help promote such worthy endeavors... This Christmas week I have very much enjoyed perusing Siraj Center for Holy Land Studies http://www.sirajcenter.org/index.php as well as The Alternative Tourism Group : The Alternative Tourism Group (ATG) is a Palestinian NGO specializing in tours and pilgrimages that include critical examinations of the history, culture, and politics of the Holy Land. http://www.atg.ps/index.php?page=1177263078

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

FREEDOM & RETURN: A Rights Based Solution to building a just and lasting peace in the Middle East ... Not just the return (al-awda) of the refugees, but also a return to the rule of law and respect for human rights: For more than five decades Palestinian refugees and internally displaced have struggled for a solution to their plight based on UN resolutions and international law, including the right to voluntarily return to their homes and lands of origin from which they were displaced/expelled during wars in 1948 and 1967 and due to other Israeli policies of forced eviction, deportation, etc....
http://www.badil.org/call-en.htm

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Dear Pres. Bush & Pres Elect Obama: Stopping a VERY BIG Ponzi-Pyramid Scheme
for Bush..etc http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?id=20004&letter_id=2729907161
for Obama http://change.gov/page/content/contact/

Dear President Bush
& President Elect Obama,

I know that you both very much want to make a smooth transition during this difficult time for America- and so I am writing you both.

Our news is filled with the shocking reports about the alleged scoundrel Bertie Madoff and his huge Ponzi-Pyramid Scheme.

Most of his Madoff's marks were wealthy Jews and Jewish organizations here in America. And it got me thinking- about Israel... and knowing that Israel receives the lion's share of our foreign aid, as well as many charity funds.. in addition to far too much of our Congress's valuable time- and our hard earned tax money... Well it occurs to me that "The Israel Industry" itself is a type of Ponzi-Pyramid Scheme, and we are all being had by Zionists crooks and then played by many trouble makers who are profiting from the Palestinians' pain and just cause for complaint.

The men, women and children of historic Palestinian, so cruelly oppressed and displaced and impoverished, are the biggest victims and most vulnerable victims of course- but to a lesser degree so are Americans (of all religions, including Jewish).

The system is rigged so that those who have invested emotionally and/or financially in "Israel" are often blithely unaware of what exactly Israel really is and does... and those who might have a clue are in deep denial for they stand to lose so much if they withdraw their support.

It's like the dot.com bubble... and the real estate bubble... both exasperated by the information age and various scoundrels and 'experts' eager and able to profit from playing the market for short term personal gains rather than making good sound long term investments for both private and public good.

Israel- racist Israel -has inspired a huge amount of hate- even among its own supporters as Zionists seek to demonize and destroy the people of historic Palestine.

Already the vast majority of Palestinians have been pushed into forced exile and despair.

" In 1948, the international community felt a deep sense of responsibility for the mass dispossession, ethnic cleansing and the Zionist transfer policy that began then. United Nations Mediator Count Folke Bernadotte, who was later assassinated by a Zionist terrorist hit squad, stated: "It would be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right to return to their homes, while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine" (UN Doc Al 648, 1948). This remains true today as any Jew, regardless of national origin, can gain automatic citizenship while Palestinian Arabs are denied their right to return to their own homeland." The Right To Return, a Basic Right Still Denied http://www.al-awda.org/facts.html

For everyones sake- including our own, we should gently but firmly withdraw all American support from Israel, for it has been constantly raising funds every where it can in order to systematically and intentionally build Apartheid in the Holy Land- and it has been ruining lives- and intentionally stealing land, rights, freedom and peace from the people of historic Palestine... and our support for it has been ruining our reputation in the Arab and Muslim world.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
American Homemaker & Poet

FREEDOM & RETURN: A Rights Based Solution to building a just and lasting peace in the Middle East ... Not just the return (al-awda) of the refugees, but also a return to the rule of law and respect for human rights: For more than five decades Palestinian refugees and internally displaced have struggled for a solution to their plight based on UN resolutions and international law, including the right to voluntarily return to their homes and lands of origin from which they were displaced/expelled during wars in 1948 and 1967 and due to other Israeli policies of forced eviction, deportation, etc....
http://www.badil.org/call-en.htm

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BRADENTON HERALD
online comment left in responce to Wilifred A. Cork's EXCELLENT letter "Tragedy in Gaza"

http://www.bradenton.com/letters/story/1093978.html
RE: Tragedy in Gaza

AnneSeldenAnnab wrote on 12/13/2008 08:24:03 AM:

Good to see this excellent letter concerning the TRAGEDY IN GAZA. Brave too of Wilifred A. Cork to speak out so clearly- including crucial information and facts.... brave for Zionist ideologues are sure to harass her for daring to speak the truth about the very real plight of the Palestinians.

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WASHINGTON POST
12-11-2008
comment I left online in their comment forum...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/09/AR2008120902780_Comments.html

RE: Israeli Wall Fuels Migration, Palestinians With Economic, Social Services Ties to Jewish State Are Integrating Neighborhoods That Won't Be Blocked by Barrier
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/09/AR2008120902780.html


""Palestinians cannot allow themselves to be trapped on the Palestinian side of the wall lest they be plummeted into poverty. They are culturally, politically and religiously tied to the West Bank, but economically connected to Israel."" Israeli Wall Fuels Migration, Palestinians With Economic, Social Services Ties to Jewish State Are Integrating Neighborhoods That Won't Be Blocked by Barrier http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/09/AR2008120902780.html


"The removal of Arabs bodily from Palestine is part of the Zionist plan to "spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment...Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried away discreetly and circumspectly." Theodore Herzl, founder of the World Zionist Organization Complete Diaries, June 12, 1895 entry." Famous Quotes http://al-awda.org/quotes.html

How much of what Israel does is really all about fragmenting Palestinian families, impoverishing Palestinian communities, and creating divisions everywhere every way it can in order to conquer and destroy the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land.


" Last January, Karen Koenig AbuZayd, head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, wrote, "Gaza is on the threshold of becoming the first territory to be intentionally reduced to a state of abject destitution, with the knowledge, acquiescence and -- some would say -- encouragement of the international community."" Israel's "Auschwitz borders" revisited BY Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 8 December 2008 .... Abunimah's story on the Electronic Intifada is aptly illustrated with a recent photograph of Israeli graffiti written in English "Arabs to the Gas Chambers"

"The humanitarian situation is dire for the people in the Gaza Strip, most importantly the children. The strip is home to 1.5 million Palestinians, 80% of whom are refugees denied by the Zionist state the right to return to their homes and lands of origin from which they were expelled by the Zionist occupation in 1948. Nearly half of the Gaza population are children who along with the elderly and ill remain completely deprived of food, water, fuel, electricity, humanitarian relief and medical supplies or facilities. UNRWA Chief of Operations in the Gaza Strip, John Ging calls the situation ‘very desperate at the humanitarian level’."
BREAK THE SIEGE OF GAZA NOW! END THE OCCUPATION OF ALL OF PALESTINE!
IMPLEMENT PALESTINIAN RIGHT TO RETURN! http://al-awdacal.org/event-la-demo.html

Meanwhile swarms of Zionist propagandists world wide do all they can to demonize and stop criticism of Israel.

"Motion 25 - passed in May by the union's congress - was a renewed attempt to put pressure on Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians.... In 2007, a motion openly calling for a boycott was passed but was subsequently overturned at a special conference - though not before it had caused an international row that opponents claimed damaged the reputation of British academia...In response to this year's motion, a group of 12 members threatened to sue the union, arguing that it amounted to a boycott in all but name and was illegal discrimination contrary to the UCU's own rules." Academics 'have abandoned Israeli boycott', say opponents
Exclusive: Lecturers' union denies u-turn on conference motion intended to show solidarity with Palestinians http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/dec/10/boycott-israel-ucu-palestinians

Dare speak the full and total truth about racist Israel's ongoing crimes against the men women and children of historic Palestine and you risk being sued- impoverished- harassed- discredited- or assassinated by Zionist ideologues intent on using both charm as well as bully tactics to empower The Israel Industry's institutionalized bigotry and injustice.

The evidence is clear, right before our eyes an intentional genocide continues unchecked as Israel's immigrant bigots, convinced they have every right to usurp and/or destroy Palestinian land, rights and life, spin every story to diminish and dismiss the men, women and children of historic Palestine.

So much really is all about economics... as jobs are lost and American newspapers, our Fourth Estate, scramble to cover expenses, it behooves us all to do what we can to help support and encourage America's newspapers (such as the Washington Post) who dare publish more honest and revealing stories concerning The Israel/Palestine conflict- and the very real plight of the Palestinians.

Ignore Zionist rags for they can not be trusted- instead help empower those brave newspapers who dare break free from the Zionist stranglehold on free speech.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
Words to Honor: The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood....The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

No Return = No Justice = No Peace
for the men, women and children of Palestine.

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The Christian Science Monitor

Letters to the Editor

from the December 9, 2008 edition

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1209/p08s04-cole.html

Should teenagers be allowed to navigate the Net alone?

It is a bad idea to assume a teenager will always make good choices on the Internet. Keeping a teenager's Internet access in a family-oriented room, with the computer positioned in a way that a busy parent can easily glance over to see where their teenager's mind might be wandering to, is a key component in encouraging the best in our children rather than inadvertently empowering the worst. The computer then also becomes more of a social interaction tool, as our teens tend to share entertaining discoveries on the Internet that they think we, their parents and siblings and friends, might enjoy.

Anne Selden Annab
Mechanicsburg, Pa.

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WASHINGTON TIMES
11-30-2008

RE: LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The Gaza conundrum by ERIC ROZENMAN Washington director Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America Washington
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/30/the-gaza-conundrum/

comment I just left opnline
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/30/the-gaza-conundrum/#comments

Comments 1 - 1 of 1

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

The Gaza conundrum letter by ERIC ROZENMAN Washington director Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America Washington is very misleading. Just as racist Israel itself seeks to divide, displace and destroy the people of historic Palestine, Rozenman seeks to divide, displace and destroy the conversation itself with distractions. Israel shuts down Gaza, controls all airspace and easily imprisons and starves countless men, women and children and Rozenman claims there is no Israeli occupation.

Then Rozenman goes on to do what he can to dismiss the very real plight, pain and suffering of the Palestinian refugees- the many men, women and children denied their inalienable legal, moral and natural right to return to original homes and lands inside Israel proper.

The exact number count is not what matters as much as the fact that there is a HUGE number of displaced Palestinians still denied their inalienable legal, moral and natural right to return to original homes and lands. I find it utterly despicable that Rozenman callously claims "The number of actual Arab refugees in 1948 was no more than 650,000, the majority of whom are no longer living." as if the eventual death of innocent and vulnerable Palestinian men, women and children so cruelly displaced in 1948 erases the crimes against humanity committed by Zionist terrorists... crimes by the way that continue to this day as racist Israel continues to impoverish and destroy Palestinian families, homes and communities:

Please notice that generations later time and time again (Jewish) individuals reclaim stolen artwork and property belonging to family members tortured and killed by the Nazi Holocaust. Makes sense to me that Palestinian heirs have the same expectation that what was rightfully belonging to their family remains in their family.

* Words to Honor: The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. http://annies-notes.blogspot.com/

November 30, 2008 at 5:36 a.m.

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WASHINGTON TIMES

11-3-2008

RE: LETTER TO EDITOR: Every citizen to get involved
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/31/every-citizen-to-get-involved/
comment i just left online-

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

Disgusted and frankly frightened by the hate mongering insults inspired by those who idolize "Israel" rather than American ideals of real democracy with true freedom, justice and equality for ALL, I am relieved to see that you published the excellent letter by Anisa Abd El Fattah of the National Association of Muslim American Women.

Yes indeed as Anisa Abd El Fattah wisely concludes, "Every American citizen must get involved in our country's political process - and we must remain involved."

However I think one crucial point very much needs to be made: Anti-Zionist sentiments are not limited to Muslims...or to any one religion: Thanks to the Information Age many people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs - including Christian as well as strictly secular- have been horrified to learn what modern man made Israel really is and does.

In 2005, there were approximately 7.2 million Palestinian refugees, equivalent to 74% of the entire Palestinian population which is estimated at 9.7 million worldwide. http://al-awdacal.org/facts.html ...and yet, rather than respecting international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by welcoming home the children of historic Palestine with full and equal rights racist Israel continues to destroy Palestinian homes and families- intentionally and systemically pushing countless more into forced exile and despair.

Christians in Jerusalem decreased from 50,000 to 10,000 due to Israeli policy.

On both sides of that monstrous Israeli built Apartheid wall Palestinian men, women and children are harassed, impoverished, insulted, oppressed, disenfranchised and displaced in many ways. For instance "Palestinians denied visit to villages of ancestors" http://www.thenational.ae/article/200810...

Rather than investing in the rule of fair and just laws and true democracy, racist Israel has been investing in bigotry, injustice and religious extremism:

""The production of olive oil is absolutely central to the Palestinian economy," European Commission representative John Kjaer said earlier this month after lending a hand in the harvest... But many farmers are cut off from their olive groves by the Israeli separation barrier and Jewish settlements, and need special permits to access their fields through barriers that only open at set times....In addition, farmers working in proximity to settlements risk attacks by firebrand settlers who believe they have a God-given right to the Holy Land." Olive groves on frontlines of West Bank conflict http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081103/wl_...

The Nakba - the Catastrophe- of 1948 continues unchecked. This genocidal crime against all of humanity created by Zionists should concern us all simply as citizens of the world.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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ECONOMIST online comments
November 06, 2008 18:15
Comment on: Great expectations of Barack Obama | Great expectations | The Economist at 11/6/2008 6:15 PM GST

Yes indeed this is a huge achievement for all of America- and a rather big hint that segregation should be a thing of the past: Let freedom ring!

Let freedom ring for America- and Palestine: It is my hope that President elect Barack Obama sees the writing on the wall and comes to realize the importance of distancing America from the divisive and costly Zionist Project that has been cruelly persecuting, impoverishing and displacing Palestinians for the past 60 years.