Green Party leader attacked by Israel

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney on the aid mission has urged President-Elect Barack Obama to denounce violence against Palestinians.
Former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, (D) Georgia: “There’s a need for people in the U.S. to understand that every piece of rubble there in that strip of land is caused by U.S. weapons.“


The big news is that Cynthia McKinney the former Green Party candidate for President has been on the peace boat which was heading for Gaza, when it was rammed by the Israelis.

Its been forced to dock in the Lebanon....here is Cynthia's interview with CNN.

Cynthia has had incredible abuse and while some green bloggers have largely ignored the appalling Irish Green Party they have been quick to criticise Cynthia, guess what Cynthia puts her ideals into action. Here is a reference by the way to the USS Liberty incident that Cynthia has noted in her CNN interview.


By the way this is how you get to be a Green Party leader, you show leadership, take unpopular positions because they are morally right and put yourself if necessary in danger..very impressive stuff from Cynthia.

You won't see Obama rushing to stop the bloodshed in Gaza.

Some more detail from the BBC

The organisation sent out an urgent statement on Tuesday saying the vessel had been surrounded by at least six Israeli military ships.

"They are firing live ammunition around the Dignity, and one of the warships has rammed the civilian craft causing an unknown amount of damage," said the statement.

"We heard heavy gunfire in the background before all contact was lost with the Dignity."

The boat was eventually able to reach the Lebanese port of Tyre, where it was greeted by a flotilla of fishing boats.

Heavy damage was clearly visible along one side but there were no reports of any injuries.

The Dignity's captain, Denis Healey, told reporters in Tyre they had been attacked "without any warning, any provocation, or anything".

"There were two other gunboats on our portside with search lights shining at us, distracting us, while a third boat came from ahead and rammed us," he said.

Another crew member, British doctor David Halpin, described hearing "the most almighty three bangs" and said he thought he was going to die.


Here are some more snippets from Israel...



It is Israel that plunged Gaza into its present condition. The disengagement of 2005 was unilateral, refusing any role to the PA and leaving the field open for the Hamas takeover. The responsibility for what is now occurring in Gaza rests, therefore, almost exclusively on Israel. Perhaps Molten Lead will end, indeed, in an "improved" cease-fire. Perhaps we shall soon see the Hamas leadership in Cairo again. But a renewal of calm will result in no solution. What solution can there be as long as the Territories continue to sink in corruption, poverty and despair? How long will it take until a new calm gives way to another massacre?

And how long can Israeli society go on living as an Occupier? How long until the country's internal social gaps, together with the ever worsening conflict, land a blow many times worse than rockets from Gaza? The basic problem isn't Hamas. It is the nationalist consensus of Israel's political parties, which have prodded the present transitional government to carry out this massacre, whose only real purpose is to continue putting off the price of peace.

argues Challenge, a socialist magazine from Isreal.

Had this from a member of the Green Movement as a comment:



We (The Israel Green Movement) are currently working on our position paper on the latest violence. We are a broad based party ranging from the far left to the center (on security issues and the Israel-Palestine conflict), so these things take time. In the meantime, those interested are referred to Gershom Baskin's piece in the Jerusalem Post today.http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230456521592&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull