Vigil/Demonstration for kidnapped Iraq CPT members

Navigation

User login

Online users

stevenl
oldtimeydave

Support OlyBlog

OlyBlog is run by volunteers who care about Olympia. If you like what we're doing, make a donation:

OlyBlog is powered by:

Who's new

shadowclad_warrior
Lisa P
GRuB
ktcoxster
making a differ...

Vigil/Demonstration for kidnapped Iraq CPT members

Submitted by christinawellman on Wed, 12/07/2005 - 9:10am.

Start: Dec 9 2005 - 8:30am

Happens at same time and place as usual FOR Peace Vigil. Please bring signs with slogans like "Free the Peacekeepers" and "End the Occupation Now." Please respect the mission of CPT and refrain from bringing signs with hateful slogans.

Login or register to post comments
Calendar

Top Muslim's plea over Iraq h

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Fri, 12/09/2005 - 11:10am.

Top Muslim's plea over Iraq hostage

The head of the world's oldest Islamic movement has called for the immediate release of British hostage Norman Kember.
Mohammed Mahdi Akef, president of the banned Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, is the latest leading Muslim to urge the kidnappers to release their captives.
In a message broadcast on al-Jazeera on Thursday Mr Akef said kidnapping innocent people was against the principles of Islam.
He said: "In the name of the the Muslim Brotherhood worldwide I call for the western peace activists in Iraq to be released immediately.
"Islam rejects the kidnapping of innocent people regardless of their aim, beliefs and opinion and all laws locally and internationally consider kidnapping a crime, particularly when it targets innocent peace activists who are known for their activity and solidarity for the Iraqi cause."

It's about time a person with

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Fri, 12/09/2005 - 11:38am.

It's about time a person with influence stepped up to the plate.

The biggest complaint in recent years has been those with influence in the Arab-Muslim world have been eerily silent on these incidents.

This also sheds light on the

Submitted by Rob Richards on Fri, 12/09/2005 - 4:23pm.

This also sheds light on the fact that the Islamic values system does not condone this kind of behavior. It begins to break down the 'evil violent muslim' stereotype. The core values of Islam are not so much different than the core values of prophetic Christianity.

In Cornell West's book "Democracy Matters" he excerpts Mahmoud Mohamed Taha's "The Second Message of Islam. Taha states -

"The good society is one that is based on three qualities: economic equality, today known as socialism, or the sharing of wealth; political equality or democracy, or sharing in political decisions which effect daily life; and social equality which, to some extent, results from socialism and democracy, and is characterized by a lack of social classes and discrimination based on color, faith, race or sex. In the good society, people are judged according to their intellectual and moral character, as reflected in their public and private lives and demonstrated in the spirit of public service at all times and through every means. Social equality aims at removing social classes and differences between urban and rural life by providing equal opportunity for cultural refinement."

This view of society, to me, doesn't seem too far from the views expressed by Jesus.

Seems more express and to the

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Fri, 12/09/2005 - 8:05pm.

Seems more express and to the point than the concepts presented from within the body politic of Christianity, to speak frankly.

I don't see this as breaking

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Fri, 12/09/2005 - 10:06pm.

I don't see this as breaking down the "evil, violent Muslim" stereotype.

While I don't think every single Muslim is waiting to strap a bomb to themselves, the overwhelming majority of terrorist actions in the last half century have stemmed from one group while influential leaders in the said group, Arab-Muslim, have been (at best) indifferent.

I urge an exploration of the

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Fri, 12/09/2005 - 10:11pm.

I urge an exploration of the roots of extremism - muslim and otherwise (think of McVeigh). The usual case is people who harbor grievance and high levels of resentment, usually toward establishment figures.

Also, it is interesting to note that Osama Bin Laden was (is?) on the USA gov't payroll (via the CIA.) What role did the CIA and other foreign service operations play in provoking extremism?

Rob W: The usual case is peop

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Fri, 12/09/2005 - 10:32pm.

Rob W: The usual case is people who harbor grievance and high levels of resentment, usually toward establishment figures.

The Fire: This is a problem because once the Soviet Union collapsed the only figure to blame, rightly or wrongly, was the US.

Rob W: What role did the CIA and other foreign service operations play in provoking extremism?

The Fire: Not as much of one as you would probably prefer. Did we pay, and train, bin Laden back in the 80s to combat the Soviet Union? Yep, that's pretty common knowledge. We funded a lot of dark characters all over the globe to combat the Soviet Union and very few of them were actually good people. Most of them we were able to keep the damage confined to their own country.

As much as I hate to say this, that is the cost of sleeping comfortably at night (in comparison to the rest of the world). There's a lot of dirty work to be done in order to ensure tomorrow is a brighter day in the US.

In a bit of a sidenote, I think the movies Syriana and Munich are going to be excellent pieces of viewing in giving the average person a basic idea to just how much dirty work we have to do around the world in order to ensure our citizen base can enjoy the current lifestyle they are accustomed to.

Explanation: Although Munich is about Mossad, don't kid yourself and think the US doesn't participate in activities which are similar.

Why would I prefer that the C

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Fri, 12/09/2005 - 11:07pm.

Why would I prefer that the CIA played a role? In fact, I wish they had nothing to do with the problems of increasing anti-Americanism and violence in central Asia.

But the fact of the matter is that the violent extremist terrorism is in direct proportion to American plundering and disruption in those areas which are affected.

Plundering? Which country ar

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Fri, 12/09/2005 - 11:34pm.

Plundering? Which country are we "plundering?"

Also, I would argue the increase in terrorism is due to the US failing to get a handle on the problem decades ago. We instead have allowed it to fester out of control and instead of putting extremism down when it was only a nuance. We now have to confront the situation after it has reached the point break.

The USA and Britian are at it

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Sat, 12/10/2005 - 10:22pm.

The USA and Britian are at it again, plundering Iraq. Contrary to UN conventions on the handling of an occupied territory, the coalition authority government put the interests of Iraqi oil and infrastructure systems onto the market, for private industries to manage and reap profit from. UN dictate has it that those assets must be held in the national interest of the occupied territory, something which has explicitly been avoided.

the terror increases in direct proportion to the exploitation. Once the West stops exploiting the Middle East for energy and other purposes, terrorism will subside.

Rob W: the coalition authorit

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Sun, 12/11/2005 - 3:52am.

Rob W: the coalition authority government put the interests of Iraqi oil and infrastructure systems onto the market, for private industries to manage and reap profit from.

The Fire: Huh? How else do you think petroleum is sold? If it wasn't put "onto the market" it wouldn't move an inch. Now, if the money from the petroleum sales are going to the US you might have an argument. If the money being made from the sales is going back into the country, though, then there is no argument.

Now, if your problem is with having US-based companies managing the petroleum I can see your point, though I would be curious which Iraqi-based company has the capabilities to do the same job.

If I remember reading right, many US companies are hiring Iraqi citizens to work for them. I don't see a problem with that.

Rob W: the terror increases in direct proportion to the exploitation. Once the West stops exploiting the Middle East for energy and other purposes, terrorism will subside.

The Fire: If this were the case Beijing would be targeted, too. In fact, in the next few years, Beijing would be the primary target. If this statement is true, the Chinese can expect a rash of terrorism in the coming years, don't you agree?

Five U.S. Soldiers Killed in

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Sat, 12/10/2005 - 10:50pm.

Five U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq Deadline Passes to Meet Demands of Activists' Kidnappers

Associated Press Sunday, December 11, 2005; Page A20

BAGHDAD, Dec. 10 -- Insurgents killed four U.S. soldiers in separate attacks Saturday, and U.S. officials announced the release of 238 detainees but said the move was unrelated to demands by the kidnappers of four Christian peace activists to free all prisoners.
[...]
Concern mounted over the fate of the four activists as a deadline set by kidnappers threatening to kill them passed Saturday.
The Interior Ministry said it had no information about the hostages -- Tom Fox, 54, of Clear Brook, Va., a town eight miles northeast of Winchester; Norman Kember, 74, of London; and two Canadians, James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32 -- and emissaries from Canada and Britain showed no sign they had established contact with the kidnappers.
The previously unknown Swords of Righteousness Brigade seized the activists two weeks ago. It first set a deadline of Thursday but then extended it until Saturday, without giving a precise hour.
U.S. and British officials have expressed concern for the lives of the captives but made clear they would not bow to the kidnappers' demands.
On Saturday, U.S. officials said they had released 238 security detainees held by multinational forces in Iraq. However, such releases are common and arranged weeks in advance. U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Elizabeth Colton said the release was not in response to the kidnappers' demands.
[...]

Are you posting the article i

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Sat, 12/10/2005 - 11:33pm.

Are you posting the article in relevence to the deadline? Or is there a portion you would like to be addressed?

TFI, you're acting kind of ho

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Sun, 12/11/2005 - 8:56am.

TFI, you're acting kind of hostile, is anything wrong?

OlyBlog.net

OlyBlog is devoted to citizen journalism, including hyperlocal news and discussion specifically about Olympia, Washington. If you care about this community and are tired of corporate media, then this is the place for you.

If you'd like to contribute, please register for an account. Here is a list of local news beats that need to be covered. You can post your news as a personal blog entry, and it will be reviewed (and possibly edited) for promotion to the front page. Once you've established a record of responsible blogging, you can become an autonomous user. You can also send news via email. All members of OlyBlog agree to abide by our comment and fair use policies. If you are frustrated about something said in a comment thread, go here.

Now playing at: