By Irish

Mohammed Khatib

At 3AM on Monday, August 3, the Israeli army raided Bil’in and arrested Mohammad Khatib, along with six other Palestinian community activists and one American human rights observer from the village. This move is an attempt by Israeli authorities to silence a popular resistance movement gaining international attention and inspiring other Palestinian communities. This West Bank agricultural village, known for its weekly protests against the Israeli apartheid wall, has become a symbol for the Palestinian popular resistance to Israel’s ongoing military occupation.

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Gary G. Kohls, MD

Given the sobering realities of horrific war crimes over in Iraq followed by rapes, murders and suicides in Colorado Springs, CO, by members of the U S Army’s Fourth Infantry Division, Fourth Brigade www.gazette.com it is well to re-examine an old case of a similar nature perpetrated by an unfortunate ex-Marine who was also trained to kill without mercy or remorse.

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Re-reported, edited by Carolyn Bennett

Dressed in red nun-like robes, Lynette ‘Squeaky’ Fromme drew a semi-automatic .45 pistol from a holster on her thigh, aimed the gun at U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, and pulled the trigger. Fromme was disarmed by Secret Service agents and members of the public thus preventing injury to the President. The gun was later found to contain no bullets in the chamber but a clip of ammunition.

Though she had not been charged in cult leader Charles Manson’s “Helter Skelter” massacres (only contempt of court for refusing to testify in that 1969 case), Fromme was reportedly among his earliest and most devoted followers. During his trial she with other followers camped outside the courthouse showing the letter ‘X’, copying Manson's marking, carved into her forehead.

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Raymond Ponzini

Rutherford County jail, Tennessee

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is supposedly conducting an investigation into the death and possible murder of an 18-year-old boy who was taken to the Rutherford County jail in Tennessee.

It seems things went a little bit too far. Young Andron Reed died or was killed soon after he was handed over to County Sheriff’s deputies late Friday night. He had been arrested after leading state troopers on a high-speed chase down Interstate 24, which ended in a slight accident. Luckily for all no one was injured according to the highway patrol officers who took Andron and his brother Octavius into custody at the scene. Of course Andron was arrested on a variety of charges ranging from evading arrest to driving under the influence and even assault, but how many times have we heard about people being falsely charged with assault by the police to justify or cover their actions.

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by Walter Brasch

More than 230,000 cases of the Swine Flu have been confirmed world wide. About 2,100 persons have died. As much as one-fourth of America's workforce may be infected by Swine Flu when it peaks in Winter, according to studies conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC scientists isolated and developed the seed strain of swine flu. Working furiously to manufacture the vaccine are five major drug companies, which received about $1.8 billion in federal funding to produce the anti-virus. Leading the testing, analyses, and education campaigns about the swine flu, in addition to the CDC, are the U.S. Public Health Service, the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Federal Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in addition to the Department of Health and Human Services, which developed the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza protection.

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Allen L Roland

Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock

To me the spirit of Woodstock was not just the spirit of the freedom seeking 60's ~ it was the final set of the weekend when Jimi Hendrix played his solo version of the Star Spangled Banner, which included all the sounds and anguish of war, and which still moves and shocks listeners now as it did then:

40 years ago I was a stockbroker intent on making money while more than 400,000 people converged on the town of Woodstock intent on having fun and watching big names like Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.

Many feel that the music and spirit of Woodstock during those three days ( August 15 -17,1969 ) was more of a revelation to the millions who listened to the album and saw the movie ~ but I think it was indeed a revelation of human connectedness particularly with the deep on going unrest and divisions of the Vietnam War.

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By Emily Spence

One's living in a proactively progressive family is not easy from a number of standpoints. Especially as a youngster, one can feel torn between wanting to fit in with contemporaries and standing up for an altogether different viewpoint and lifestyle -- an alternative that could cause one to be ostracized and shunned by peers.

Relative to this, I well remember the day that Justin, the empathetic son of leftist friends, burst through his kitchen door and started to cry. His mother and I asked him about the reason and he replied that he couldn't figure out the response that he should take in a heartrending situation. Therefore, he simply felt overwhelmed in frustration and anguish.

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Allen L Roland

Americans should be rightfully angry. We were run over by the Bush administration and we're being run over by the Obama administration who refuse to deliver the change we demanded and no where is this more apparent than with healthcare reform:

Americans are rightfully angry because we were ripped off by the Cheney/Bush administration for eight scandal ridden years ( both of whom are now writing their multi million dollar advanced memoirs ). We were promised the change of an open and transparent government by Obama ( which millions of Americans, including myself, enthusiastically voted for ) and we are apparently being ripped off again ~ which doubles our anger because our trust has been seemingly betrayed.

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Sherrie Wilcox

We have all heard about the FEMA camps, the Georgia Coffins AND the Georgia Guidestones (well lots of us, have heard about them before). We have seen pictures on the internet and have read all kinds of things about them.

I wanted to check these out for myself. I was visiting someone in Georgia, so I thought it would be a Great time to look into all of the internet claims and conspiracy theories. The person I was visiting was Totally up for it too. We felt like kids, our first ever spy type adventure. We met a friend for lunch and she wanted to join in on the adventure also. The three of us women, set out in 2 cars to tour Georgia and the conspiracies surrounding the FEMA camps, coffins and Guidestones.

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Franklin Lamb
Along the ‘Blue Line’ with Palestine

Part I: Zeroing in on Israel’s existential threats

It’s becoming tense again down along the ‘Blue Line’, three years after Israel’s 5th war against Lebanon. Israeli Brig. General. "Alon Friedman" told the Times of London in an interview this week that border tensions between Israel and Lebanon could "explode at any minute."

If one were to credit the myriad recent threats these past few weeks against Lebanon and President Obama from Israeli officials and AIPAC operatives in Congress, recently swarming around Palestine, it could be disconcerting as one recalls how quiet summers in this region sometimes heat up fast. Israel has been moving troops back and forth along Lebanon’s southern border and in and out of Ghajar village and Shabaa Farms, which has caused the Lebanese army to move some of its forces towards the borders with Israel while nearby Hezbollah forces remain on full alert.

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