Más derechos, menos derecha

"Every moment of one's life, one is growing into more or retreating into less." - Norman Mailer

Sunday, January 03, 2010

A final note

To anyone out there who might read this blog and want to continue following me:

I have decided to publish a new blog. If you are interested in checking it out, please email me at palabramante@gmail.com and I will send you the new URL.

Thanks for reading and for your interest. Keeping a blog is one of my favourite things, and I hope to continue to utilize this format to practice writing and crystallize my thoughts on virtual paper in order to help make sense of my life.

Thanks again. Happy 2010.

Saturday, December 05, 2009

English only? Creo que la reality don't reflect it



Very interesting... Look how "English-y" our country apparently is (not).

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Las Vulpess "Me gusta ser una zorra"


adaptation of Iggy and the Stooges' "I wanna be your dog". AWESOME.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Christians are commies

This shit is rad. (from the New Internationl Version):

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Love
9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.

17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[d]says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."[e] 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Palestinian Youth Murdered by Israeli Army

http://www.bilin-ffj.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=199&Itemid=1

On Wednesday, 30 September 2009, the Israeli army murdered a Palestinian youth outside his school, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam high school in Yabad village, west of Jenin. This school had been closed from 2001-2006.

Around 11:35am, a military jeep with the license plate number 655474 left the main road to turn into the access road to the school where a group of male students gathered close to the main entrance of the school. The jeep was driving at a fast speed and targeted Foad Mahmoud Naiyf Turkuman (age 17) who was crouching down close to a small concrete wall. According to eye witnesses (one of his teachers and three of his friends), the jeep hit Foad directly and pushed him against the wall. Due to the impact, Foad was thrown 2.5 meters and fell to the ground in front of the vehicle. The driver of the jeep then drove his vehicle forward running two wheels over Foad's chest and torso of the already injured youth a second time. He then stopped the engine and called for reinforcement, claiming mechanical failure. The driver of the jeep closed the gate of the school and did not allow any of the teachers’ cars to go out and take the injured student from the ground, or help him.

A second jeep with the license plate number 611041 arrived. The newly arrived soldiers threw tear gas at three friends of Foad's standing nearby as well as into the school court yard to prevent anyone from coming to the scene. About 24 students were injured by the tear gas. Eventually, the second jeep towed the first one away to underline the claimed mechanical failure. While the media portrayed the event as an accident, the Palestinians clearly see it as a deliberate murder. Some witnesses documented the event with their mobile phone cameras.

When Foad's brother, Mahdi Mahmoud Naiyf Turkuman ran to the scene to help his brother, the soldiers blocked his way. He injured his wrist when he slammed his hand against the jeep in an attempt to get through. As teachers and students tried to come to Foad's rescue, saying that they will call an ambulance to take him to the hospital, the soldiers allegedly asked what was the problem and if anyone was injured!

Foad, who was seriously injured, was left unattended for 30 minutes because the army prohibited anyone from approaching. Finally, the teachers and a relative were allowed to rescue him and take him to Jenin hospital in a relative's private car. He died from his injuries at the hospital an hour later. His brother Mahdi had to be sedated by injection since he witnessed the murder of his own brother and was in shock.

Eye witnesses mentioned that the soldiers obviously assumed that the boys were about to throw stones. Since the Israeli army is not supposed to use their guns on stone throwers, they seemed to have opted to use their jeep as a weapon instead.

Most of the students were in their classes, but a few were finishing up and going to their homes.

Foad's family, who are refugees from Haifa since 1948, decided to file suit for murder against the Israeli army.


Background
The village of Yabad is surrounded by five illegal settlements, Mevo Dotan, Hermesh, Rehan, Shaqed, and Hinnanit. The Separation Wall is located west of Yabad village. Since 2003, the new road 585, located south of Yabad, is used primarily for military vehicles. Before that, the military used the old road. There is a checkpoint with 3 towers close to the school.
The Separation Wall, the Israeli-only road and the illegal settlements claimed 2,000 donums of land belonging to Yabad farmers. Since 2001, a total of 40% of Palestinian land has been lost throughout the West Bank.
One of the reasons why the military jeeps are coming to the area of the school is that the Israeli army is checking the water level for Yabad village once a month. Water is a serious issue here as everywhere else in the West Bank. Only 9% of the total available water resources are accessible to Palestinians, 91% are appropriated for Israeli use.

جريمة قتل طفل فلسطيني بيد الجيش الإسرائيلي

يوم الأربعاء 30/9/2009م قام الجيش الإسرائيلي بجريمة قتل طفل فلسطيني على مدخل مدرسته مدرسة الشهيد عز الدين القسام الثانوية في بلدة يعبد الواقعة جنوب غرب مدينة جنين. هذه المدرسة التي أغلقها الجيش الإسرائيلي منذ عام 2001 وحتى عام 2005م.

ففي حوالي الساعة 11:35 صباحا قامت مركبة عسكرية إسرائيلية تحمل لوحة تسجيل رقم צ 655474 بترك الشارع الرئيسي والدخول إلى المدخل الخص بالمدرسة حيث كان هناك بضعة طلاب يخرجون من باب المدرسة متجهين إلى منازلهم. وقد كانت المركبة تسير بسرعة عالية جدا وقامت بصدم الطالب فؤاد محمود نايف تركمان (17 عاما) بصورة متعمدة مما أدى إلى قذفه لمسافة 2.5م امام المركبة العسكرية وارتطامه بجدار اسمنتي على جانب المدخل(بشهادة ثلاثة شهود عيان من زملائه) ، ثم قام سائق المركبة بقيادتها باتجاه الطالب الجريح حيث صعدت العجلات اليمنى الأمامية والخلفية على صدره وبطنه، وواصل السير لمسافة 10 امتار حتى الباب الرئيسي للمدرسة حيث قام بإطفاء المركبة هناك مغلقا باب المدرسة أمام خروج أي سيارة منها. وقد ادعى سائق المركبة العسكرية ان مركبته معطلة وطلب هاتفيا المساعدة من مركبات عسكرية أخرى. وعندما وصل مدير ومعلمو المدرسة لمساعدة الجريح أغلق الجنود الطريق امامهم ومنعوهم من تقديم يد العون للجريح او خروج اية سيارة من المدرسة لنقل الجريح. في هذه الأثناء جاءت مركبة عسكرية ثانية تحمل لوحة تسجيل رقم צ 611041 وما ان وصلت حتى بدا الجنود بإطلاق قنابل الغاز المسيل للدموع باتجاه المدرسة حيث الطلبة في غرفهم الطفية مما ادى إلى وقوع حوالي 24 حالة اختناق وإغماء من القنابل المسيلة للدموع. وقامت المركبة العسكرية بجر المركبة التي ادعوا انها معطلة وأوقفوها على الشارع الرئيسي مقابل المدرسة مباشرة وقد تم تصويرها من خلال الهواتف النقالة لبعض الطلبة.

وعندما هرع شقيق الشهيد فؤاد المدعو مهدي محمود نايف تركمان لمساعدة شقيقه أغلق الجنود الطريق أمامه وقد أصيب بجرح في ساعده الأيمن ونزف دما بغزارة. وعندما تحدث مدير المدرسة والمعلمون مع الجنود للسماح لهم بالخروج ومساعدة الجريح وطلب سيارة إسعاف تساءل الجنود باستهجان ماذا حدث؟ هل هناك من أحد مصاب؟

وقد بقي الشهيد فؤاد ملقى على الارض ما يقارب 25-30 دقيقة حتى اسطاع المعلمون الوصول إليه في اللحظة التي وصلت فيها سيارة خاصة لأحد سكان البلدة كانت تسير على الشارع الرئيسي فقاموا بنقل الجريح بواسطتها على مستشفى جنين حيث فارق الشهيد الحياة هناك. اما اخوه مهدي فقد أصيب بصدمة ونوبة هستيرية حادة.

وحسب الادعاء الإسرائيلي فقد قال الجنود ان الطلبة كانوا على اهبة الإستعداد لإلقاء الحجارة على المركبة العسكرية، وقد استخدم الجنود مركبتهم كسلاح ضد الطالب. وللحقيقة فإن أبواب مبنى المدرسة كانت مغلقة والطلبة في غرفهم الصفية يتلقون العلم ولم يكن على مدخل المدرسة سوى 7-8 طلاب كانوا قد انهوا دوامهم المدرسي وهم في طريقهم إلى منازلهم.

وللعلم فإن عائلة الشهيد فؤاد كانت قد هجرت من مدينة حيفا عام 1948 وقد قررت العائلة مقاضاة الجنود الإسرائيليين أمام المحاكم.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

El cuerpo no es más que un medio de volverse temporalmente visible. Todo nacimiento es una aparición. (Amado Nervo)

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The glory of God is man fully alive. -Saint Irenaeus