BREAKING NEWS - ISRAELI GROUND TROOPS ENTER GAZA

Israeli troops 'move into Gaza'
Israeli ground troops have entered Gaza, Israeli military officials say, a week after the offensive against Hamas began




This just came into my inbox from BBC. I have turned on CNN, MSNBC and Faux News and am watching those horrible green night vision pictures of green toy soldiers carrying rifles and wearing backpacks marching across my screen. I'll report more as I learn more, although I expect you to keep watch on your own television and news sources, as I am just an observer, just as are you.





Israel has confirmed the invasion. I just heard that Hamas fighters are returning heavy fire. The air strikes are continuing ans the invasion continues



At present, I have only this one picture from BBC.

Whichever side you may support in this war, the civilians of Gaza are the ones who are suffering most. Let us remember them in our prayers that they somehow hold onto hope and that they have the strength to endure.

And let us remind the Israeli soldiers that their Jewish religion teaches of a God of mercy who loves all his children of every nationality.

URGENT - DEMONSTRATION TOMORROW! and some pictures...

FROM SIKH ACTIVIST NETWORK

Subject: SOLIDARITY RALLY AGAINST THE ISRAELI ATTACKS ON GAZA

WHAT:
====

RALLY AGAINST THE ISRAELI ATTACKS ON GAZA


WHEN:
=====

2pm on Saturday January 3rd, 2009


WHERE:
======

Yonge-Dundas Square (buses leave Palestine House 1:15pm sharp)

Palestine house located at- 3195 Erindale Station Road, Mississauga, ON L5C 1Y5
(905) 270-3622

(google maps link)

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://maps.google.ca%2Fmaps%3Fhl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26ie%3DUTF8%26q%3Dpalestine%2Bhouse%2Bmississauga%26fb%3D1%26cid%3D0%2C0%2C4871263926904450757%26z%3D16%26iwloc%3DA


MORE INFO
========

Join in demonstrating against the latest Israeli assault on the people of Gaza. At least 400 Palestinians have been killed and at least 1600 have been injured in the on-going assault on the Gaza Strip that began on Saturday.

This is the single largest massacre in Gaza since Israel illegally occupied the area in 1967. The numbers of dead are mounting, especially as the already limited medical supplies are running out due to the brutal siege of Gaza since 2005.

The Sikh Activist Network stands in solidarity with our Palestinian brothers ands sisters. It is our duty to oppose these inhumane, unjust, and brutal attacks against Gaza.

Members of the network will be meeting at Palestine house and bussing down (buses leave at 1:15pm sharp).

Please email sikhactivist@gmail.com or respond to this message if you have any questions or concerns.
-

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Amnesty International also has taken up the cause of the people of Gaza. To send a petition to Condaleeza Rice, go here.

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Now...Here is a short piece from about Gaza, posted to IHRO, a few companies to boycott and lots of pictures.

Do you Know that Israel has Restarted Slaughtering innocent Gaza People by Recent Arial Attacks?
Israel launched a sudden air attack on Gaza and killed more than 300 people and still continuing
Israel is a great challenge for , humanity and democracy. It is fortified with world super-power, US and its allies and many Multi-national companies
which dedicatedly pouring their profits in supporting the world terrorist, the child killer - Israel.
This is very clear truth. There are clear track record to prove that following companies strive to bring up Israel and establish the Zionist country in our holy land Let's forget about our favorite brands. We sacrifice our tastes for the sake of Innocent Palestinians who are squeezed under Israeli onslught.

Let's swear that we will never use following products in our life :



It is our turn. We have to do our part. No point of blaming Arabs who doesn't care about Palestinians. We will be questioned by Allah, therfore, we should have done something to answer him.

OK, most readers of this blog are Sikhs and we do not answer to Allah. So ask this question: What would Guru Gobind Singh want you to do? Then please do that! Then go to the post under this - to be up soon - and follow the links there.


No, I changed my mind. This post needs to get up now. The pictures, other than these four will be in the next post about The Palestinian Chronicle. It will be published under this one, as I want this to be on top until tomorrow morning. >

A PLEA FROM SOME GAZANS

A Post from IHRO (International Human Rights Organisation) today. (Note: I did change one word in this story because I wanted to remove what may have been a religious/ethnic slur. In my effort to keep my comments even handed, I changed the word to "Israelis" in paragraph one. If that annoys you, I'll be happy to personally tell you what I changed. The format has also been altered in my copy/paste. Otherwise, this is unedited.)

As most of you know that the Muslims of Gaza are being slaughtred. Universities and even Masjids are being bombed. From they air the Muslims are being bombed by the [Israelis] and from the back they are being shot at by the Egyption soldiers

"Palestinian medical sources say at least 345 Gazans have been killed and another 1,450 wounded in three consecutive days of Israeli bombardment in the heavily-populated territory." - [Al-Jazeera]

"The situation here is very difficult. They are shooting at us from everywhere, at all targets - military or not." - [Amin Asfour, Gaza City, doctor]

"Unfortunately the situation is very bad in Gaza city - the Israeli occupation is striking more and more organisations, more houses and the mosque, and my university was hit last night. - [Majed Badra, 23, Gaza City]

IS THE WORLD BLIND?.............WHERE ARE THE HUMAN RIGHTS PEOPLE NOW???
IF THIS AN'T TERRORISM THEN WHAT IS IT???
WHY DON'T PEOPLE SPEAK OUT??????
INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE BEING KILLED – CHILDREN, WOMEN, THE OLD, INNOCENT MEN……….WHY????
WHERE ARE THOSE OF THIS WORLD WHO HAVE PLEDGED TO PROTECT? ARE WE HUMAN OR ARE WE ANIMALS? WHAT ARE WE THINKING? WHERE IS OUR COMPASSION? ISRAEL HAS DENIED, FOR VERY LONG TIME, EVEN BASIC HUMAN NEEDS TO THE PEOPLE OF GAZA BY BLOCKADES...NOTHING COULD GO IN NOR COME OUT!! AND WHEN GAZA RETALIATES AGAINST THIS OUTRIGHT CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY, THEN THIS ATROCITY IS ALLOWD TO GO ON!!


YA ALLAH!! HAVE MERCY!! YA ALLAH!! HELP!!!


FATIMA DONY

crossposted from sometimes - 2

AVAAZ Petition Against The Attack of Gaza

This picture from Reuters seems to sum it all up:

By now, we have all heard of Israel's latest attack on the people of Gaza. I do not pretend that the Hamas government is blameless in these attacks. I do say that Israel's response is all out of proportion to the danger Hamas poses to Israel. For those who are into arithmetic, I note that as of this writing, at least 312 Gazans have been killed in this latest offensive. But no matter.

What matters is that again - still - the civilian population of Gaza is suffering. A few pictures from BBC will serve to illustrate what is going on.

AVAAZ, an NGO that I support, has put together a petition calling for an end to the bombardment of the people of Gaza. Please read their letter below and go sign the petition. The children of Gaza continue to die while we do nothing.

From AVAAZ:

Dear friends,

As we watch the Gaza bloodshed with horror, appalled at how the crisis is spiralling further out of control, one thing is clear -- this violence will only lead to further civilian suffering and an escalation of the conflict.

There must be another way. Over 300 are dead and hundreds more injured -- rockets are striking Ashdod deep inside Israel for the very first time, and the sides are mobilising for invasion. A global response has begun, but it'll take more than words -- the immediate violence won't end, nor will wider peace be secured, without firm action from the international community.

Today, we're launching an emergency campaign which will be delivered to the UN Security Council and key world powers, urging them to act to ensure an immediate ceasefire, address the growing humanitarian crisis, and take steps to build real and lasting peace.1 Follow this link now to sign the emergency petition and send it to everyone you know:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/97.php?cl_tf_sign=1

After eight or more years of ineffective US and global diplomacy -- and now Gaza's bloodiest day in recent memory -- we must issue a global outcry demanding that world leaders do more than make statements if they're to bring peace to this region. The UN, the European Union, the Arab League and the USA should now act together to ensure a ceasefire – which includes an end to rocket attacks into Israel and opening the checkpoints for fuel, food, medicine and other humanitarian aid deliveries.

With a new US President taking office in less than a month, a real opportunity exists to breathe new life into peace efforts. These latest hostilities require not only an immediate ceasefire but a commitment from Obama and other world leaders that resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the very top of their agendas. As the whole world is impacted by this ongoing conflict - we should demand nothing less.

In 2006 we mobilised for a ceasefire in Lebanon. For years we've worked to encourage a just and lasting peace, taking out billboards and ads across Israel and Palestine. Now as we head into 2009, we need to come together again to demand a peaceful and lasting resolution, instead of a further escalation of violence. Follow this link to put your name forward for peace:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/97.php?cl_tf_sign=1

All sides to the conflict will continue to act as they have in the past if they believe that the world will stand by and allow them to do so. 2009 is a year that things can be different. As we face this crisis, and the possibilities of a new year, it's time for us to demand a ceasefire and work together to finally put an end to this cycle of violence.

With hope and determination,

Brett, Ricken, Alice, Ben, Pascal, Paul, Graziela, Paula, Luis, Iain and the whole Avaaz team


ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in Ottawa, London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Buenos Aires, and Geneva. Call us at: +1 888 922 8229 or +55 21 2509 0368

Click here to learn more about our largest campaigns.

Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Myspace and Bebo page

Jasbir Singh Testifies to CBI - Part One

I am too exhausted to write today; I did want to put this out to you, though.

More tomorrow, I hope.

Another riots witness names Tytler, Sajjan before CBI
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Moga, December 26
After two days of grilling of Giani Surinder Singh, one of the two
eyewitnesses of the anti-Sikh riots being questioned by the CBI in
the USA, the two-member panel of the investigating agency questioned
the second eyewitness Jasbir Singh at Gaddar Memorial House in San
Francisco for more than four hours today.

The CBI recorded his statement with regard to the alleged role of
Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the riots. The questioning would
continue tomorrow, revealed Jasbir Singh while talking to The Tribune
on the phone this morning.

He said he had told the CBI officials that 26 of his family members
and relatives were killed in the riots and he saved his life by
hiding himself at the river-bed of Yamuna on November 1 and 2 and in
a High School building near the inter-state bus terminal on November
3 during the riots.

"I have told the CBI that the investigating agency should not term it
as riots because no person from other communities was killed,
therefore, it should be better to term the incident as genocide", he said.

"I have told the CBI very clearly that both Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan
Kumar were directly involved in the large-scale killings of the Sikh
families in Delhi", he said, adding that he had told the CBI
officials that he recognised both leaders.

The CBI has called him again for tomorrow.

Meanwhile, many Sikh organisations gathered outside the Gaddar
Memorial House and demanded justice for the victims of riots. They
also demanded the arrest of all those who were involved in the riots.
They raised slogans against the CBI alleging that they were asking
unnecessary questions to the witnesses.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, New York-based attorney and legal adviser to
the Sikhs For Justice, who accompanied Jasbir from New York to San
Francisco to record his statement, said they believed in the Indian
Constitution and laws but there was a need to formulate a "hate
crime" law in India, providing special prosecutorial procedures and
harsh punishments for crimes targeting religious minorities.

Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad, president of the All-India Sikh Students
Federation, announced that his organisation would file a writ
petitions in all respective state high courts where Sikhs were massacred.

The Grilling of Giani Surinder Singh

The is a follow-up to yesterday's post about CBI taking statements from these witnesses to Jagdish Tytler's murderous actions during the 1984 antiSikh pogrom in Delhi. It seems that maybe the CBI is more interested in sisrespecting these Sikh brothers and their testimony than in hearing the truth. What a surprise!

CBI grills key witnesses in US
Questioning biased, allege Sikh bodies
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Moga, December 24
Sikh organisations of New York protested outside the office of the Consulate-General of India in Manhattan, alleging that CBI officials had put “unwanted” questions to Giani Surinder Singh, a key-witness in the anti-Sikh riots case, on the second day of the questioning today. They alleged that the investigating agency was trying to protect the Congress leaders involved in the riots of 1984.

A two-member team of the CBI is in the US to record the statements of Giani Surinder Singh and Jasbir Singh, key witnesses in the case.

Giani Surinder Singh had given a statement before the CBI yesterday that senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler was directly responsible for the massacre of three Sikhs in Gurdwara Pulbhangash at Azad Nagar in Delhi on November 1, 1984, during the riots.

Talking to this correspondent on the phone from New York today, Surinder Singh had alleged that the questions asked by the CBI team gave him a feeling that the investigating team was trying to portray him as the killer.

“I have already stated that Tytler led the mob to kill Sikhs, but the CBI team has asked me whether I know or remember the names of people in the mob and what kind of clothes or shoes they were wearing,” he said.

He said: “The CBI team should have rather asked him how, when and where had he seen Jagdish Tytler instigating the mobs? How did the killings of the Sikhs took place?”

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York-based attorney and legal adviser of Sikh organisation “Sikhs for Justice”, who accompanied Giani Surinder Singh to the Consulate-General’s office, in an e-mail sent to The Tribune, said Giani Surinder Singh had earlier also recorded his statement in the Chandigarh office of the CBI early this year. As such the question of any pressure from any Sikh organisation did not arise.

The team had not yet recorded the statement of Jasbir Singh and would probably question him tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad, president of the All-India Sikh Students Federation, alleged that the way CBI team had questioned Giani Surinder Singh on the second day, it appeared that the agency was working under the pressure of Congress-led UPA government.