Eileen fleming's Posts - MyPeace.TV2024-03-28T14:46:20Zeileen fleminghttps://mypeace.tv/profile/eileenfleminghttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2190231300?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://mypeace.tv/profiles/blog/feed?user=1wzltp2qjgwza&xn_auth=noObama's Mandate from and Vanunu's letter to: 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Committeetag:mypeace.tv,2009-10-11:1992146:BlogPost:909792009-10-11T16:56:58.000Zeileen fleminghttps://mypeace.tv/profile/eileenfleming
In his congratulatory message to President Obama upon being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Israeli President Shimon Peres stated:<br />
<br />
"Very few leaders if at all were able to change the mood of the entire world in such a short while with such profound impact. You provided all of humanity with fresh hope, with intellectual determination, and a feeling that there is a Lord in heaven and believers on earth. Under your leadership, peace became a real and original agenda. And from Jerusalem, I am sure…
In his congratulatory message to President Obama upon being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Israeli President Shimon Peres stated:<br />
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"Very few leaders if at all were able to change the mood of the entire world in such a short while with such profound impact. You provided all of humanity with fresh hope, with intellectual determination, and a feeling that there is a Lord in heaven and believers on earth. Under your leadership, peace became a real and original agenda. And from Jerusalem, I am sure all the bells of engagement and understanding will ring again. You gave us a license to dream and act in a noble direction." [1]<br />
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Within days of the announcement for 2009’s Nobel Peace Prize, twenty-two time nominee, Mordechai Vanunu declined the honor in a letter to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Oslo:<br />
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<b>"I am asking the committee to remove my name from the nominations…I cannot be part of a list of laureates that includes Simon Peres…Peres established and developed the atomic weapon program in Dimona in Israel…Peres was the man who ordered [my] kidnapping…he continues to oppose my freedom and release…WHAT I WANT IS FREEDOM AND ONLY FREEDOM….FREEDOM AND ONLY FREEDOM I NEED NOW."</b> [2]<br />
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In 1994, Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat and Peres were all awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for playing a part in achieving the Oslo Declaration of Principles. According to the preamble of the DOP, peace was to be based on mutual respect and reconciliation.<br />
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Alfred Nobel’s intention was to reward people with a moral backbone and he hoped to create icons and examples to humankind. Here's hoping President Obama seizes his Nobel Prize as a mandate from Oslo and also hold Israel accountable for past sins of omission and obfuscations.<br />
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<br />
In 1963, when Vanunu was nine years old the Zionists came to his home town of Marrakech, Morocco and convinced his Orthodox father to abandon his general store and pack up the first seven of his eleven children for the land of milk and honey. Instead, the Vanunu's were banished to the desert of Beesheva. A few months later, Shimon Peres, then Israel's Deputy Minister of Defense met with President John Kennedy, at the White House.<br />
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Kennedy told Peres, "You know that we follow very closely the discovery of any nuclear development in the region. This could create a very dangerous situation. For this reason we monitor your nuclear effort. What could you tell me about this?"<br />
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Peres replied, "I can tell you most clearly that we will not introduce nuclear weapons to the region, and certainly we will not be the first."<br />
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Ghassan Khatib, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, said Palestinians hope the prize "will provide an additional incentive" for Obama to keep striving for an end to the decades-old conflict while Reuven Rivlin, speaker of Israel's parliament, called the Nobel decision "very strange." [3]<br />
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The Nobel committee "stressed that it made its decision based on Mr. Obama’s actual efforts toward nuclear disarmament as well as American engagement with the world relying more on diplomacy and dialogue." [4]<br />
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President Obama, is now the third sitting American president to win the award, and his peers include Mikhail S. Gorbachev, who won the Nobel for helping end the Cold War which raged from 1945 to 1991, and Nelson Mandela, who fought for the end of Apartheid in South Africa.<br />
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Instead of repenting and abolishing nuclear weapons after the terrorism inflicted on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the American government upped the ante of nuclear insanity and thus bears the most responsibility for the political conflict and economic competition that ensued during those 46 years.<br />
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The apartheid regime in South Africa existed from 1948 until 1994; but it was not until the late 1980's that the American government got on-board with the over twenty years of a global call for boycott, divestment and sanctions that finally brought that apartheid system to its knees.<br />
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The Norwegians are way ahead of US in regards to people power and human rights activism for justice in Israel Palestine.<br />
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The Norwegian government dropped the Israeli firm Elbit Systems Ltd. from the government pension fund, because regular people brought to the attention of their government Elbit's involvement in building the Apartheid Wall in the Occupied West Bank.<br />
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"Norway's Council of Ethics cited the 2004 International Court of Justice ruling that declared the Separation Wall to be illegal. Elbit Systems supplies essential components for the building of the Wall, including surveillance technology, and is also a manufacturer of weapons used to sustain Israel's Occupation of Palestine… [and] because of the firm's material support for the illegal Occupation and crimes against the Palestinian people… [and because they] supplied arms to Israel in the full knowledge that these weapons would be used against civilians in Palestine and Lebanon." [5]<br />
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Knowledge always brings responsibility and there are no secrets on the World Wide Web!<br />
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On October 2, 2009, <i>The Washington Times</i> reported that "Obama agrees to keep Israel's nukes secret [and] reaffirmed a 4-decade-old secret understanding that has allowed Israel to keep a nuclear arsenal without opening it to international inspections."<br />
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In 2005, Vanunu, told me:<br />
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"President Kennedy tried to stop Israel from building atomic weapons. Prime Minister Ben Guirion said, 'The nuclear reactor is only for peace."<br />
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"Kennedy insisted on an open internal inspection. He wrote letters demanding that Ben Guirion open up the Dimona for inspection.<br />
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"When Johnson became president, he made an agreement with Israel that two senators would come every year to inspect. Before the senators would visit, the Israelis would build a wall to block the underground elevators and stairways. From 1963 to ’69, the senators came, but they never knew about the wall that hid the rest of the Dimona from them.<br />
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"Nixon stopped the inspections and agreed to ignore the situation. As a result, Israel increased production. In 1986, there were over two hundred bombs. Today, they may have enough plutonium for ten bombs a year."<br />
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On April 5, 2009, President Obama stood on the world stage in Prague and admitted, "As the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act…When we fail to pursue peace, then it stays forever beyond our grasp. We know the path when we choose fear over hope. To denounce or shrug off a call for cooperation is an easy but also cowardly thing to do. That’s how wars begin. That’s where human progress ends…the voices of peace and progress must be raised together…Human destiny will be what we make of it…Words must mean something."<br />
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Here's hoping President Obama will courageously pursue the mandate issued from Oslo with an unrestrained audacious daring and that President Peres is ready to ease his conscience and allow Vanunu the right to leave occupied east Jerusalem.<br />
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Here's hoping too, that together they will pursue the dream of a nuclear free world.<br />
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"HOPE has two children. The first is ANGER at the way things are. The second is COURAGE to DO SOMETHING about it."-St. Augustine<br />
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1.<a href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1254861908462" target="_blank">http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1254861908462</a><br />
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2.<a href="http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1216&Itemid=218" target="_blank">http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1216&Itemid=218<br />
</a><br />
3. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-obama-nobel-israel10-2009oct10,0,6389213.story" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-obama-nobel-israel10-2009oct10,0,6389213.story</a><br />
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4. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/world/10nobel.html?th&emc=th" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/world/10nobel.html?th&emc=th</a><br />
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5. <a href="http://www.waronwant.org/news/latest-news/16659-victory-for-bds-campaign-as-arms-firm-axed" target="_blank">http://www.waronwant.org/news/latest-news/16659-victory-for-bds-campaign-as-arms-firm-axed</a><br />
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Eileen Fleming,<br />
Founder of <a href="%20WeAreWideAwake.org" target="_blank">WeAreWideAwake.org</a><br />
A Feature Correspondent for Arabisto.com<br />
Author of "Keep Hope Alive" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"<br />
Producer "30 Minutes with Vanunu" and "13 Minutes with Vanunu"Shelter from The Storm: A Gathering of Dovestag:mypeace.tv,2009-02-10:1992146:BlogPost:359962009-02-10T16:49:23.000Zeileen fleminghttps://mypeace.tv/profile/eileenfleming
<b><i><br />
I've heard newborn babies wailin' like a mourning dove<br />
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love.<br />
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Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?<br />
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Come in, she said, I'll give you shelter from the storm...</i></b><br />
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"Where there is no vision, the people perish."</b>-Proverbs 29:18 - King James Version<br />
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The ancients understood that God spoke to them in their dreams and visions. The ancients told those stories around the camp fires and those stories grew by…
<b><i><br />
I've heard newborn babies wailin' like a mourning dove<br />
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love.<br />
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Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?<br />
<br />
Come in, she said, I'll give you shelter from the storm...</i></b><br />
<b><br />
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"Where there is no vision, the people perish."</b>-Proverbs 29:18 - King James Version<br />
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The ancients understood that God spoke to them in their dreams and visions. The ancients told those stories around the camp fires and those stories grew by the flame enkindled in the hearer's hearts; transforming them into story tellers too.<br />
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During the season of Lent-the days between Ash Wednesday, which begins February 25 this year and Easter Sunday on April 12- Christians are called to self reflection and repenting-understood as a turning away from or as a change of course and go and seek to discern and do the will of God first.<br />
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In the gospel [good news] told in Mark 3: 31-35, the mother of Jesus' and his brothers arrived at the house where he was teaching.<br />
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Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him out. The crowd around Jesus told him, "Your mother, sisters and brothers are outside asking for you."<br />
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Jesus replied, <b>"I am here with my mother, sisters and brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother, sister and mother."</b>-Mark 3: 31-35<br />
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<b>"What does God require? He has told you o'man! Be just, be merciful, and walk humbly with your Lord."</b> -Micah 6:8<br />
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Being just means correct, true, accurate, right and fair. Merciful is to have, feel and show compassion, that sense of viscerally feeling the pain of another and being moved to help. Being humble is knowing yourself; the good and the bad, for both cut through every human heart.<br />
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All Christians-from the most fundamental to those left of the progressives-are connected to the other as a sister and brother in the mystical Body of Christ.<br />
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It is a dysfunctional family in the USA and time is ripe to liberate Jesus from the bondage of institutional patriarchy.<br />
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No church owns Jesus and no religion owns God.<br />
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HOW do we get there?<br />
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Certainly NOT by maintaining the status quo!<br />
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"Imagination is Evidence of The Divine"-William Blake<br />
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In 2003, I read an article in Presence Magazine written by a pastor of a church in Berkeley. I no longer remember what he wrote, but he inspired me to email him a few of my theological questions. He replied something like this;<br />
<b><i><br />
I once gave a sermon that began with the story of Rabbi Hillel, who lived 100 years before Jesus walked the earth.<br />
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Rabbi Hillel understood the Hebrew understanding of Hokema; Holy Wisdom; The Feminine Divinity, was the same as the Greek understanding of The Logos: The Word.<br />
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It was Saints John and Paul that understood The Logos: The Word was Jesus.<br />
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So with a little imagination you can imagine that before Jesus walked the earth a man, he was already a she;<br />
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The Word, Holy Wisdom, Hokema, the feminine divinity.<br />
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I gave that sermon to a mainline conservative congregation. It didn't go over well…<br />
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It read like good news to me!<br />
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Ever since the days of Eve until the days of JC, the feminine has NOT been equally valued.<br />
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Jesus is the first known Jewish man to blow apart his societal, cultural and religious taboo of speaking with females!<br />
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Because the male disciples would not, could not follow Jesus' example THAT closely, too few who claim to be Christian, ever do it like JC did!<br />
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Later male disciples, the Protestant Reformers, would not, could not accept the Book of Wisdom and threw that out of their canon. It has been said that some thought the Book of Wisdom was too Jewish or perhaps too feminine, but the Catholics include it in their bible.<br />
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The Book of Wisdom defines wisdom as: <b>a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained, and certain. Not baneful, but loving the good. Keen, unhampered, beneficent, kind, firm, secure, all-powerful, all-seeing and pervading all spirits.<br />
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Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion and SHE penetrates and pervades all things by reason. SHE is the aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of the glory of The Almighty. SHE is the refulgence of eternal Light, a spotless mirror of the power of God. And SHE who is one, can do all things and renews everything, and passing into holy souls from age to age, SHE produces friends of God and prophets.-</b> WISDOM 7:22-8:1<br />
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*Wisdom has built her house and SHE calls to all; <b>"Come, eat my food and drink my wine and you will live abundant life and walk in the ways of understanding."</b> -*Proverbs 9…<br />
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Number 9 Number 9 Number 9....Let all who are little come in here, Wisdom has built her house; come eat her food and drink her wine and walk in the ways of understanding [Proverbs 9]...I'm so very small I'm so very small, already within the heart of every atom yet extend Beyond the Universe and connect every mother and child....Number 9 Number 9 Number 9.......<br />
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Wisdom calls; "I have built it; will you come? Do you have eyes to see and ears to hear?<br />
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Holy Wisdom, the Feminine Divinity: Hokema,</b><br />
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Who was with The Word from the very beginning,<br />
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She is One with Him and He with Her;<br />
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Pure Being; One God;<br />
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One Creator and One Lover of All the Human Family,<br />
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Hokema; Holy Wisdom;, The Feminine Divinity<br />
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Same as The Logos: The Word:<br />
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Have you heard the word is love and the word is just the way-John Lennon<br />
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The Word is The Christ and before Christ walked the earth a man,<br />
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He was already a SHE:<br />
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Hokema, Holy Wisdom; the Feminine Divinity<br />
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Now, isn't that Good News?<br />
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The God Head is One Pure Being;<br />
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as much male as female<br />
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as much mommy as daddy.<br />
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And we are all children of Her Universe;<br />
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And **He is the oldest personality because He is the origin of everything;<br />
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and everything is born of Him.<br />
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He is the supreme controller of the universe,<br />
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the maintainer and instructor of humanity.<br />
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He is smaller than the smallest.[**Bhagavad-Gita]<br />
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He indwells the heart of every atom and<br />
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She is beyond the Universe.<br />
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Wisdom is calling,<br />
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She is rattling your windows and shaking your walls<br />
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With some more good news of the<br />
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three witnesses,<br />
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and three always beats one<br />
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and not just that,<br />
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I've got a fourth.<br />
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Get out your Good Book sisters and brothers and chew on this;<br />
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Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-29, and Luke 12:10<br />
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are simpatico with gnostic Thomas saying 44:<br />
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'Jesus said: "Whoever blasphemes against the father will be forgiven, whoever blasphemes against the son will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either on earth or in heaven."<br />
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God is within every sister, brother and all Creation,<br />
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Get a clue Christian,<br />
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His ways are not your ways and Her thoughts are not your thoughts<br />
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Dominion never meant to rape and plunder,<br />
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but to nurture, care and love<br />
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And if you have not love, you have nothing at all<br />
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And on that final day we all will stand naked before The Creator<br />
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And we have been warned that there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth<br />
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by those who were so sure they were in, because they are the ones left out.<br />
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WAKE UP Christian!<br />
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Hear the wind begin to howl.<br />
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<b>For every misunderstanding, every condemning thought, every negative vibration, every tear torn from a heart, every time one grabbed and wouldn’t let go, and they only did it because they did not know:<br />
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The Divine is within all creation and within all women and men.<br />
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And every tiny kindness you have ever done, every gentle word spoken, every time you held your tongue, every positive thought, every smile freely given, every helping hand that opens, helps bring in the kingdom.<br />
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And the kingdom comes from above, and it comes from within. Imagine a kingdom of sisterhood of all creatures and all men.</b><br />
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"Where there is no vision, the people perish."-Proverbs 29, 18 - King James Version<br />
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Christianity was founded by rebels, revolutionaries and dissidents, not conservatives or neo-cons.<br />
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Same goes for these United States.<br />
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copyright Eileen Fleming,<br />
Founder WAWA:<br />
http://www.wearewideawake.org/<br />
Author "Keep Hope Alive"<br />
"Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"<br />
Producer "30 Minutes With Vanunu" and "13 Minutes with Vanunu"The Times They Are a'Changin'- FREE Vanunu and Palestine Now!tag:mypeace.tv,2009-01-27:1992146:BlogPost:334162009-01-27T15:30:00.000Zeileen fleminghttps://mypeace.tv/profile/eileenfleming
<b>The Times They Are a'Changin'- FREE Vanunu Mordechai! Now!</b><br />
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Began on Face book on November 15, 2008 by an Italian with a vision for a Global V Day with his message to VMJC: Vanunu Mordechai John Crossman:<br />
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"For the little I can, [I will] try to move the conscience of the largest number of people possible, to try and break the chain of hatred that choke you and all the people of the area. Keep struggling. One day soon you will come to Rome to wipe away the ghosts of the past…"…
<b>The Times They Are a'Changin'- FREE Vanunu Mordechai! Now!</b><br />
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Began on Face book on November 15, 2008 by an Italian with a vision for a Global V Day with his message to VMJC: Vanunu Mordechai John Crossman:<br />
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"For the little I can, [I will] try to move the conscience of the largest number of people possible, to try and break the chain of hatred that choke you and all the people of the area. Keep struggling. One day soon you will come to Rome to wipe away the ghosts of the past…" [1]<br />
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Excerpted from the Groups Description introduction by VANUNU MORDECHAI JC:<br />
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"…a man of peace, a symbol. KIDNAPPED IN ROME SEP' 30 th.1986…AFTER 18 YEARS IN ISRAEL PRISON… still a prisoner of fear and revenge. VANUNU…is waiting in East Jerusalem to leave;…be really free-to live…group objective is to help VANUNU… to enjoy in full his human right and to promote confrontation and a new mental approach toward the Palestine tragedy. Open your minds, stop hate.<br />
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On June 4, 2008 Vanunu wrote:<br />
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Dear Editors<br />
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I am Mordechai Vanunu, the man who told the truth about Israel's Nuclear Weapons. Program in 1986 and paid with 18 years of my life in Israel Prison. I was released in April 2004, but Israel denied me, my human rights of free speech and freedom movement. I am not allowed to leave since 1986 until now; 2008.<br />
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On July 8, 2008, I will return to court to appeal a new 6 months prison sentence for speaking to foreign Media, since my release 2004,<br />
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I am asking the Media to report on my case and on the efforts of Norwegian Lawyers and citizens to grant me asylum.<br />
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Israel claims I still have a secret about their underground nuclear plant-a place I have not been to in twenty-three years and international atomic energy inspectors never have.<br />
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I said all I knew about Israel's Nuclear weapons Programs in 1986, because I [listened to] the voice of my conscience and wanted to avoid a nuclear wars. Since 2004, I have spoken with thousands of tourists and pilgrims in east Jerusalem and taped hours of video available on the World Wide Web.<br />
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Israel was founded contingent on upholding the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I am asking the world to demand they honor it. And not only in this case,<br />
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Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.- Article 13-2.<br />
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Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. -Article 19.<br />
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VANUNU MORDECHAI J C.<br />
KIDNAPPED IN ROME SEP' 30 TH'-1986.<br />
AFTER 18 YEARS IN ISRAEL PRISON.<br />
Waiting In East Jerusalem.To Be Free,To Leave.<br />
P.O.Box 20102. Salah Adin St'.<br />
East Jerusalem. 91384<br />
Mobile ( 9 7 2 ) 0 5 2 3 7 4 4 5<br />
http:/www.vanunu.com<br />
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On July 8, 2008, Israel convicted Vanunu on 14 counts-from over a hundred interviews he gave foreign journalists in 2004. His Supreme Court appeal has been put off until 2009.<br />
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<b>From an email of July 9, 2007, Vanunu wrote:</b><br />
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Since my release from prison on April 21, 2004, Israel has denied me the right to speak with any foreigners and I have openly defied this unjust order by speaking with thousands of human beings because human beings have rights and States have obligations.<br />
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My photographic evidence taken in 1985, before I departed the Dimona for the last time has not caused Israel a breach of security, nor has any of my speaking to human beings.<br />
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I never received any payment for my photos or from the over 100 interviews I gave to journalists in 2004, which were used as testimony against me.<br />
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All I am asking is to leave the state for my life is in danger in Israel and I am unable to find employment in occupied East Jerusalem.<br />
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All I am asking for is the right to leave Israel and have a life that is not under occupation. vmjc<br />
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In April 1999, thirty-six members of the House of Representatives signed a letter calling for Vanunu's release from prison because they believed <b>"we have a duty to stand up for men and women like Mordechai Vanunu who dare to articulate a brighter vision for humanity."</b><br />
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President Clinton responded with a public statement expressing concern for Vanunu and the need for Israel and other non-parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty to adhere to it and accept IAEA safeguards.<br />
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Israel still has not signed the NPT nor have they ever allowed IAEA inspectors into the Dimona; a place Vanunu has not stepped into since 1985-yet Israel claims he still has untold secrets.<br />
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<b>In March 2006, just a few weeks after the beginning of his freedom of speech trial, Vanunu sent Senator Clinton and USA Christians the following message:</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.wearewideawake.org/">http://www.wearewideawake.org/</a><br />
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In 1987, from solitary prison Vanunu wrote that he was, "the secret agent of the people…the eyes of the nation. I have no choice. I'm a little man, a citizen, one of the people, but I'll do what I have to. <b>I've heard the voice of my conscience and there's nowhere to hide."</b><br />
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People of conscience in the global community are now organizing to be voices of conscience in a Face Book effort founded by Angelo Fanton who wrote:<br />
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I am proposing a day on defense of Human rights in general and in support of individuals being victimized by governments in particular, all in the name of V being as he is an archetype of the problem. But this problem is universal. It involves all governments, from Vanunu to Guantanamo to Darfur, all the way to Gaza, where an Israeli soldier is being kept prisoner in violation of Human rights and Geneva Convention.<br />
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Learn More:<br />
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<b>The Times They Are a'Changin'- FREE Vanunu Mordechai! Now!</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=52776865024#/group.php?gid=52776865024">http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=52776865024#/group.php?gid=52776865024</a><br />
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1. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=52776865024#/wall.php?id=52776865024In honor of King and with Hope for Changetag:mypeace.tv,2009-01-19:1992146:BlogPost:310582009-01-19T00:41:35.000Zeileen fleminghttps://mypeace.tv/profile/eileenfleming
On the evening of <b>April 4, 1968,</b> while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated.<br />
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In <b><i>KEEP HOPE ALIVE</i></b>, I began with Chapter One:<br />
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<b>THE MORNING AFTER APRIL 4, 1968</b><br />
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<b>"Peace for Israel means security, and we stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one…</b>
On the evening of <b>April 4, 1968,</b> while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated.<br />
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In <b><i>KEEP HOPE ALIVE</i></b>, I began with Chapter One:<br />
<br />
<b>THE MORNING AFTER APRIL 4, 1968</b><br />
<br />
<b>"Peace for Israel means security, and we stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality."</b>-Martin Luther King<br />
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Mary woke at dawn and re-entered the living room for the first time since she had said goodnight the night before. She was not surprised to see Khaled sprawled out in his recliner or Riad at peace on the sofa. But she was dismayed to see Art curled in fetal position on the black and white checkered tile at the front door.<br />
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She gently stepped over him into the red and white kitchen as the morning sun broke through the garden window. The sun illuminated the cherry-blonde slab stump of an ancient olive tree that had been hewn into a kitchen table and received as a wedding gift from family and friends, who lived in Khaled’s hometown, the village of Majd Al Krum, in Upper Galilee. Even on the most frigid morning, Mary felt warmed by the high-gloss patina of the tabletop, but held more dear the signatures and marks from the entire town etched underneath.<br />
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Mary silently performed the morning ritual of brewing the first of many pots of Turkish coffee for the day, gratefully inhaled the piquant aroma, and then quickly exited up the back staircase to the bedrooms to wake her daughter for school. When Mary returned to her kitchen after escorting Ahmeena to her third grade classroom, she was not surprised to find Khaled and Riad at the table, downing a second pot of the Turkish brew.<br />
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“Please, Mary, don’t say a word. I drank too much, and now I am paying the price.”<br />
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“Khaled, the pain in your face brings me to tears; you are clearly suffering. I will not add to your misery. But you, Riad--you look buoyant. What’s your secret?”<br />
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Riad chuckled. “Tolerance.”<br />
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Mary marveled at how his gleaming pate radiated the sun’s rejection through the garden window that showcased a pendulous purple wisteria and bird bath, where blue jays had immediately gathered to eat the seed she had just put out.<br />
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At that moment, Art stumbled into the room, banging his shoulder against the wall and hip into the butcher-block counter. “Oiy! Sylvia is going to fry me! I thought I’d be back at her sister’s by noon, but that bad news about Martin Luther King, Jr., hit us all like a left to the liver! I thought last night would be only good reminiscing, but reality intruded. Hmm, Thanks, Mary, I need this brew.” He nodded and gratefully downed the pungent coffee that Mary had just set before him.<br />
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“So, who wants breakfast?”<br />
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“Just toast, Mary, my love,” Khaled whimpered weakly.<br />
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“Same for me.” Riad beamed, and Mary thought how grateful she was to know him.<br />
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Art whispered, “Have you any Mylanta, Mary?”<br />
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Mary suppressed a smile as she turned to retrieve it, when the unmistakable seven knock's of Ahmad was heard at the front door.<br />
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“Namaste!” Ahmad bellowed as he opened the red door, reminding Mary of a Cheshire cat without any guile at all.<br />
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Riad replied, with a beatific smile, “The God in me salutes the God in you, too.”<br />
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“Art, Khaled, look what I found in the gutter.” Ahmad nudged a redheaded muscular youth forward as hard as he could.<br />
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“Why, Jack Hunt, I haven’t seen you in weeks; come in, dear.” Mary was always happy to see any of the eleven Hunt children who lived next door.<br />
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Khaled stood to welcome his neighbor and asked, “Jack, why aren’t you in class this morning?”<br />
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“Well, I didn’t know until I showed up that poli-sci and humanities were both canceled. Both professors are heading to King’s funeral. They both marched with him in 1964. I am free until three, when I have football practice. I was just getting out of the car and hoping to catch up on some sleep, when Ahmad accosted me and dragged me in here.”<br />
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Riad stood with his palms together and slightly bowed. “Welcome, Jack. I’m Riad, and the poor fellow to my right is Art.”<br />
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“Oh man, Art, you look like shit! I hope it’s not contagious.”<br />
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“Shut up and sit,” Art growled.<br />
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“Ahmad, we expected you for dinner last night. I made your favorite— roasted lamb.”<br />
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“Oh, so sorry to have missed you all, but after I left Khaled’s going-away party at Westinghouse, I worked through the night. In fact, I have not eaten since the goodbye brunch yesterday; I could use some lamb right now.”<br />
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Mary turned swiftly and began emptying the refrigerator. While Art moaned, she asked, “Please, Ahmad, I have not heard a word about the going-away party; fill me in.”<br />
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Ahmad grinned and nodded. “Well, the best part was at the very end, when Khaled stood at the microphone and spoke with tears in his eyes to the two hundred people who had gathered to say goodbye. He held us spellbound with his words: ‘My dear friends, I am overwhelmed by this turnout. I have been blessed. I will miss you all very much. Thank you for the kind words, the gifts, the memories, and all your good work. I also want to leave a remembrance with one of you.’<br />
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“And it was I, Ahmad, who held the fish bowl filled to capacity with everyone’s signatures that Khaled reached his hand into and then pulled out a paper scrap, unfolded it, and called out, ‘Oh, Bubbles McGrath! You have won. Come up here and receive your gift!’ Now, Bubbles is a short, plump blonde, who jumped up like a toad and screamed, ‘Oh my gosh! I have never won anything!’ She literally bounced her way to where Khaled and I stood, but I quickly got out of the way, as the man of the hour held out a festively wrapped box like a shield to protect himself from the force of the rushing Bubbles McGrath. Blubbles flung her arms around Khaled and kissed him on the mouth, then blurted out, ‘Oh, thank you, Khaled, I am so excited!’ It was incredible, how she tore the box open like a child at Christmas, and when her face beheld the treasure inside, her lower lip quivered, and she quietly whispered, ‘Thanks.’ Then she held out the gunmetal gray snow shovel, and the room roared!”<br />
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Mary had noticed Jack was oblivious to Ahmad’s tale. As he stared out the garden window, she intuited he was worried about his sister Bonnie, a WAC nurse in Vietnam, and his brother Kevin, who was in the Navy. While the men were still chuckling over Ahmad’s tale, Jack startled them all as his words rushed out. “My professor told me that he marched with King because, even though he himself was an atheist, he felt in community with the diversity of people of faith who had come together with one voice demanding justice. He said King had a power to make you believe you were connected to every other person in the crowd as if they were a sister or a brother.”<br />
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A heavy, pregnant silence filled the room, and Mary held her breath until Jack turned toward her, his eyes like blazing emeralds, and with a sardonic smile, remarked, “Being stuck in the middle of ten others, I have no desire for any more sisters or bothers.” Then, with a sigh deeper and more meaningful than any words and with overcast eyes brimming with tears, he softly murmured, “I will be sorry when you Diabs depart for sunny Florida. I always appreciated you letting me use your library, Dr. D.”<br />
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Mary turned as her own tears fell, and Khaled mumbled, as he choked back his own, “We will all miss you, too, Jack, but we have a few weeks left before we will part. Let’s have some coffee now!”<br />
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Riad beckoned Jack to sit at his right side, but Jack shook his head. “Ah, that’s ok. Really, I have got to go. Practice is at three o’clock, and I only came back home to get some sleep.”<br />
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Khaled implored, “Jack, please, sit and visit. Mary, where is his coffee? Besides, Riad has some fantastic tale we never got to hear last night, and now is the time. Riad, the floor is yours.”<br />
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Jack remained unmoved as Riad queried, “Have you heard the tale of the Bedouin named Mohammed Ali? No? How about the Nag´ Hammâdi library? Hmmm, do you know I am a master of ancient civilizations, and I speak Greek and Hebrew fluently? Jack, you are an open book and I see you are not at all impressed. May I ask you, have you heard of UNESCO?”<br />
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Jack barely suppressed a smirk as he sat down in one of the seven eclectic chairs that hugged the sides of the enormous olivewood table and indulgently uttered, “United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.”<br />
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“Correct, but I’ll get to that later. For the story I want to tell you all, dates back to antiquity. But I will begin in 1945, in Egypt, in the land just above the bend of the Nile, north of the Valley of the Kings, across the river from the city of Nag´ Hammâdi, near the hamlet of al-Qasr, under a cliff called Jabal al-Tarif. An Egyptian Bedouin named Mohammed Ali was out gathering sabakh, a nitrate-rich fertilizer for the crops that he grew in the small hamlet of al-Qasr. He was aghast to stumble upon a skeleton as he dug, and bewildered when he uncovered a two-foot high earthenware jar. A bowl had been placed over the top, and it was sealed with bitumen. At first, the Bedouin thought an evil genie was within, but when he shook the heavy jar, he heard things moving and thought it might be gold. He smashed the jar open and out fluttered pieces of gold particles that he tried to catch, but they disappeared. When he peered into the jar, he was dismayed to find twelve leather-bound books. Mohammed Ali was illiterate, so he placed no great value on books, but was confident he could sell them and make something for his troubles. So he carried the jar filled with books back to the homestead.<br />
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“Now, Mohammed Ali also happened to be a fugitive from the law, for he had wielded the weapon that spilled the blood of a patriarch during a violent incident in a generation-long family feud, not so very long before. After a few days of mulling over possibilities, he decided to give his find to the local Coptic priest for safekeeping. You see, he feared the authorities soon would be lurking about and would confiscate his possession before he could receive any money for it.<br />
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“His mother ripped out many pages to keep the home fire going, and I grieve and wonder what ancient treasures she burned. Anyway, the priest passed it on to his brother-in-law, a traveling tutor, who brought the books to the Coptic museum in Cairo on October 4, 1946.<br />
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“I happened to be the assistant to the director of the antiquities department at that time, and our department was immediately summoned to inspect them. What we found were ancient compositions, written in Coptic that had been translated from ancient Greek. The volumes were leather-bound pages of papyrus, and no doubt the gold dust that Mohammed Ali witnessed was from papyrus fragments that had broken off. For the past twenty years, under the leadership of UNESCO, Egypt, and the American scholar James Robinson, these anthologies and collections of texts with titles like the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene have now been translated into many languages.”<br />
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Jack’s emerald orbs glinted as he quietly asked, “So?”<br />
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“Well, I believe when this knowledge has been disseminated by seekers of God, it will prove to be a revolutionary find. You see, the texts date back to the early days of Christianity. The most likely source for these books was the Pachomius Monastery, which thrived for centuries just three miles from the burial site. I believe a monk buried these books in the wilderness under the cliff of Jabl al-Tarif for safe-keeping.”<br />
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“But why would a monk hide some books? What for?” Jack sipped his second cup of coffee as he kept his eyes riveted on Riad.<br />
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“Well Jack, two thousand years ago, there were many different understandings of Jesus among Christians. Now, thanks to the treasures of Nag´ Hammâdi, we know how rich and diverse those understandings were. These texts had been deemed heretical by those who were gaining power through the political arena. Surely you know about Emperor Constantine?”<br />
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“Of course, he lived in the fourth century, didn’t he? Wasn’t he a pagan warrior who became the first Christian ruler, but waited until he was on his deathbed before being baptized?”<br />
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“Yes and the most decisive event in the history of Christendom occurred when Emperor Constantine accepted the Christian faith, for those who had once been persecuted were now protected by an earthly king. Both a patriarchal monarchical state and church were formed at the same time. Power struggles and debates were common among the early Christians. Individual churches determined which texts were read, and they all had their favorites. Constantine sought to unite his empire, and uniting the church was a savvy political move. He announced he would pay for fifty illuminated copies of scripture to be bound, and thus the biblical canon was established and sealed. There was fierce debate among the bishops about what should be included and what left out.<br />
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“The proto-orthodox, who had now become the dominant voice, determined what was heretical for everyone. The proto-orthodox demanded much-loved scripture to be burned, usually because it did not fit their understanding of God. No doubt, what was found at Nag´ Hammâdi is thanks to an unknown monk who lived a few miles away in the Pachomius Monastery. If the authorities had found out about him, these texts and that monk would both have burned!”<br />
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“But why were the books deemed heretical? Why were they suppressed? What was the establishment afraid of?” Jack’s eyes remained riveted on Riad.<br />
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“Well Jack, many of these texts were considered Gnostic. Gnosis is defined as knowledge discerned institutively. Gnostic texts offer deep mystery that is discerned via intuition, not rational thought. This is not the way for fundamentalists. A Gnostic is open to receiving intuitive knowledge of deep spiritual truth. For students of the New Testament, this is a much greater find than the Dead Sea Scrolls. Forty of the texts had previously been unknown to modern scholars. Thirty-five scholars have been working diligently on these translations, and we all agree that the bound books themselves date back to the fourth century and were written in Coptic translated from Greek and Aramaic. The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of the sayings of Jesus, words of wisdom, proverbs, parables, and some very confounding mysteries. About 35 of the 114 sayings have no counterpart in the New Testament, while at least 20 are almost identical, and 54 have similarities. Many scholars concur that the sayings were originally written in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language of Jesus and his followers. It is very possible the sayings are closer to the words Jesus actually spoke than what is found in the canonical gospels.”<br />
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“I am still not clear about why there was so much censorship. If the people were talking about Jesus and what he said, that seems better than not talking about him at all.”<br />
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“Agreed, and two thousand years ago, there was lively debate about who Jesus was, and why he came. Jack, you do understand that history is always written by the winners, right?”<br />
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“Of course I know that! And now, I suppose you will tell me all about the losers?”<br />
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“Well, the proto-orthodox, who were the majority, considered these texts anathema. Texts were deemed heretical for many reasons, and usually it was because they did not fit neatly into the evolving dogma. Gnostic texts offer us mystery, not answers. For centuries, all we had to reconstruct Gnostic beliefs were the hostile accounts against them given by Irenaus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Epiphanius, and other church fathers who disagreed with the Gnostic understanding.”<br />
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“Yeah, well, I don’t do church anymore, but my sister Maureen is a nun, and my brother Mike is a priest. I wonder what they would think of all this stuff. Might tick them off, is my guess.”<br />
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“Now Jack, we must be kind to the early church fathers; they were flawed like all of humanity, but they did the best they could. We are all guided by the inner light and by how much light we have opened up to receive. The gifts of Nag´ Hammâdi present us with a very diverse Christianity, indeed.<br />
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“One of my favorites is the Gospel of Thomas. These pithy sayings of Jesus are meant to be heard and chewed upon. Consider sayings three and five: ‘The kingdom is inside you, and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living father,’1 and ‘Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden will be disclosed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.’”2<br />
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“Hey, that reminds me of ‘seek and you will find,’ and ‘knock and the door will open.’<br />
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“Yes, you see the connection. And in Thomas, sayings ninety-two and ninety-four, Jesus says exactly that. But in saying two, Jesus speaks: ‘Let one who seeks not stop seeking until one finds. When one finds, one will be troubled. When one is troubled, one will marvel…’”3<br />
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Jack interrupted with “Wait, I still do not get what was the big deal. Why did the authorities want these books trashed?”<br />
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“Jack, did you know that the Gospel of Mark was written first, in about 70 CE? Then Matthew and Luke followed in 85 CE, and the very different sounding Gospel of John appeared just before the turn of the first century. The Gospel of Thomas was written down as early as the middle of the first century, and no later than the middle of the second.”<br />
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Jack interrupted. “You mean it may have been written even before the Gospel of John?”<br />
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“Exactly, and that is why I wonder if the author of John was debating many of Jesus’ sayings quoted by the author of Thomas. In particular, I was struck by the fact that Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-29, and Luke 12:10 are nearly identical to Thomas saying forty-four, ‘Jesus said, “Whoever blasphemes against the father will be forgiven, and whoever blasphemes against the son will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either on earth or in heaven.’4 The writer of John completely left this quote from Jesus out. What do you think about that, Jack?”<br />
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“Well, it sounds like Jesus is just alright with whatever you think or say about him, but the Holy Spirit--that’s God within. It sounds like Jesus is saying it’s not so much what we think or say about him, but how we treat one another and ourselves.”<br />
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“Spoken well!” Ahmad grinned as he continued, “If I may share a moment, there is the Hindu way to God through love, and it is the very path that Jesus taught about. In fact, I think Christianity is one great brilliantly-lit highway to God! The Hindu discipline I follow is called bhajti yoga. What is required upon this path is loving God first, with no ulterior motives; not even a desire to be loved back. All day, as I do my work, I do it for God. I am in love with God, and that fills me with a love for all men and all creation. Love God first, and everything else falls into place, I say.”<br />
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Jack had become excited. “You just made me remember what Mike wrote to me, after he heard Thomas Merton speak at what became his last peace rally, before he was electrocuted in a freak accident and died. My brother was standing next to this nun who accosted Merton after his speech and demanded, ‘Why didn’t you mention Christ in your speech?’ Merton replied, ‘What we are asked to do at present is not so much to speak of Christ as to let him live in us, so that people may find him by feeling how he lives in us.’5 Mike wrote that after overhearing that encounter, he quit giving his parishioners the usual list of prayers to say for penance. Instead, he told them not to mention Jesus by name for a week, but to keep Jesus foremost in their minds and hearts.”<br />
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Riad beamed. “Jack, your brother is a wise man to think of such a just penance for Christians who may forget the other names for Jesus, like Emmanuel, meaning ‘God is with us,’ and the Prince of Peace. And Martin Luther King, Jr., walked in his footsteps; I hope we never forget his message of justice and equality for all humanity.”<br />
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Khaled met Art’s eyes and gently spoke. “You know, Martin Luther King is foremost the voice for the Negro, but he also speaks for all who seek justice. He said, ‘We have come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. Now is the time for justice; now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to lift our nation from injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.’”6<br />
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Art stabbed out his cigarette and injected, “Yeah, and do you know what Reverend King said just a few weeks ago? He said, ‘Peace for Israel means security, and we stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality.’”7<br />
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Khaled nearly blubbered, “Reality? The reality is that Israel’s democracy does not extend to Palestinians, whose families have lived there for centuries! Martin Luther King also spoke about not ‘being satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.’8 Reverend King also spoke about his people’s great trials, tribulations, and creative suffering. He spoke about injustice, but offered such hope for change, because the American dream is that all men are created equal. This is also the Palestinian dream. Reverend King spoke of his dream, and I, too, have a dream, that underneath the shade of olive trees, the descendants of Abraham will one day sit down at the table of brotherhood.”<br />
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Art lit another cigarette as he added, “My rabbi always says, ‘If we would all just do like Micah told, we’d be alright. Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.’”9<br />
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1. Meyer, Marvin. The Gospel of Thomas, pg 23<br />
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2. IBID<br />
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3. IBID<br />
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4. IBID, pg. 41<br />
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5. Azar-Rucquoi, Fundamentally, It's Love Faith in Focus, April 29, 2002<br />
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6. King, Martin Luther, Jr. A Testament of Hope, pg. 217-218<br />
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7. Lewisy, San Fransisco Chronicle, Jan. 21, 2002<br />
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8. King, Testament, pg. 219<br />
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9. Micah 6:8<br />
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TBC January 20, 2009 on WAWA:<br />
<a href="http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1166&Itemid=214">http://www.wearewideawake.org/</a>The Times they are always a'changin'tag:mypeace.tv,2008-12-21:1992146:BlogPost:225382008-12-21T15:28:32.000Zeileen fleminghttps://mypeace.tv/profile/eileenfleming
<b>The Times They Are a'Changin'- FREE Vanunu Mordechai! Now!</b> Began on Face book on November 15, 2008 by an Italian with a vision for a Global V Day with his message to VMJC: Vanunu Mordechai John Crossman:<br />
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"For the little I can, [I will] try to move the conscience of the largest number of people possible, to try and break the chain of hatred that choke you and all the people of the area. Keep struggling. One day soon you will come to Rome to wipe away the ghosts of the past…"…
<b>The Times They Are a'Changin'- FREE Vanunu Mordechai! Now!</b> Began on Face book on November 15, 2008 by an Italian with a vision for a Global V Day with his message to VMJC: Vanunu Mordechai John Crossman:<br />
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"For the little I can, [I will] try to move the conscience of the largest number of people possible, to try and break the chain of hatred that choke you and all the people of the area. Keep struggling. One day soon you will come to Rome to wipe away the ghosts of the past…" [1]<br />
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Excerpted from the Groups Description introduction by VANUNU MORDECHAI JC:<br />
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"…a man of peace, a symbol. KIDNAPPED IN ROME SEP' 30 th.1986…AFTER 18 YEARS IN ISRAEL PRISON… still a prisoner of fear and revenge. VANUNU…is waiting in East Jerusalem to leave;…be really free-to live…group objective is to help VANUNU… to enjoy in full his human right and to promote confrontation and a new mental approach toward the Palestine tragedy. Open your minds, stop hate.<br />
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On June 4, 2008 Vanunu wrote:<br />
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Dear Editors<br />
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I am Mordechai Vanunu, the man who told the truth about Israel's Nuclear Weapons. Program in 1986 and paid with 18 years of my life in Israel Prison. I was released in April 2004, but Israel denied me, my human rights of free speech and freedom movement. I am not allowed to leave since 1986 until now; 2008.<br />
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On July 8, 2008, I will return to court to appeal a new 6 months prison sentence for speaking to foreign Media, since my release 2004,<br />
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I am asking the Media to report on my case and on the efforts of Norwegian Lawyers and citizens to grant me asylum.<br />
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Israel claims I still have a secret about their underground nuclear plant-a place I have not been to in twenty-three years and international atomic energy inspectors never have.<br />
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I said all I knew about Israel's Nuclear weapons Programs in 1986, because I [listened to] the voice of my conscience and wanted to avoid a nuclear wars. Since 2004, I have spoken with thousands of tourists and pilgrims in east Jerusalem and taped hours of video available on the World Wide Web.<br />
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Israel was founded contingent on upholding the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I am asking the world to demand they honor it. And not only in this case,<br />
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Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.- Article 13-2.<br />
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Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. -Article 19.<br />
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VANUNU MORDECHAI J C.<br />
KIDNAPPED IN ROME SEP' 30 TH'-1986.<br />
AFTER 18 YEARS IN ISRAEL PRISON.<br />
Waiting In East Jerusalem.To Be Free,To Leave.<br />
P.O.Box 20102. Salah Adin St'.<br />
East Jerusalem. 91384<br />
Mobile ( 9 7 2 ) 0 5 2 3 7 4 4 5<br />
http:/www.vanunu.com<br />
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<b>On July 8, 2008, Israel convicted Vanunu on 14 counts-from over a hundred interviews he gave foreign journalists in 2004. His Supreme Court appeal has been put off until 2009.</b><br />
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From an email of July 9, 2007, Vanunu wrote:<br />
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Since my release from prison on April 21, 2004, Israel has denied me the right to speak with any foreigners and I have openly defied this unjust order by speaking with thousands of human beings because human beings have rights and States have obligations.<br />
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My photographic evidence taken in 1985, before I departed the Dimona for the last time has not caused Israel a breach of security, nor has any of my speaking to human beings.<br />
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I never received any payment for my photos or from the over 100 interviews I gave to journalists in 2004, which were used as testimony against me.<br />
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All I am asking is to leave the state for my life is in danger in Israel and I am unable to find employment in occupied East Jerusalem.<br />
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All I am asking for is the right to leave Israel and have a life that is not under occupation. vmjc<br />
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In April 1999, thirty-six members of the House of Representatives signed a letter calling for Vanunu's release from prison because they believed "we have a duty to stand up for men and women like Mordechai Vanunu who dare to articulate a brighter vision for humanity."<br />
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President Clinton responded with a public statement expressing concern for Vanunu and the need for Israel and other non-parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty to adhere to it and accept IAEA safeguards.<br />
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Israel still has not signed the NPT nor have they ever allowed IAEA inspectors into the Dimona; a place Vanunu has not stepped into since 1985-yet Israel claims he still has untold secrets.<br />
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Since Vanunu's release to open air prison in April 2004, Vanunu has spoken with thousands of people.<br />
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<b>In March 2006, just a few weeks after the beginning of his freedom of speech trial, Vanunu sent Senator Clinton and USA Christians the following message:</b><br />
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<a href="%20http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=47537156583&h=EtyE0&u=pPp4v"><br />
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=47537156583&h=EtyE0&u=pPp4v</a><br />
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In 1987, from solitary prison Vanunu wrote that he was, "the secret agent of the people…the eyes of the nation. I have no choice. I'm a little man, a citizen, one of the people, but I'll do what I have to. I've heard the voice of my conscience and there's nowhere to hide."<br />
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People of conscience in the global community are now organizing to be voices of conscience in a Face Book effort founded by Angelo Fanton who wrote:<br />
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I am proposing a day on defense of Human rights in general and in support of individuals being victimized by governments in particular, all in the name of V being as he is an archetype of the problem. But this problem is universal. It involves all governments, from Vanunu to Guantanamo to Darfur, all the way to Gaza, where an Israeli soldier is being kept prisoner in violation of Human rights and Geneva Convention.<br />
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<b>Learn More and be a part of:</b><br />
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The Times They Are a'Changin'- FREE Vanunu Mordechai! Now!<br />
<a href="%20http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=52776865024#/group.php?gid=52776865024"><br />
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=52776865024#/group.php?gid=52776865024</a><br />
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1. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=52776865024#/wall.php?id=52776865024What Would Jesus Throw at Bush?tag:mypeace.tv,2008-12-18:1992146:BlogPost:204562008-12-18T02:48:55.000Zeileen fleminghttps://mypeace.tv/profile/eileenfleming
<b>I IMAGINE something similar to this letter accompanying a pair of my shoes.</b><br />
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December 17, 2008<br />
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The White House<br />
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW<br />
Washington, DC 20500<br />
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Dear President George W. Bush,<br />
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As a NONVIOLENT person deeply anchored to what Jesus taught, I would never throw anything at you or any other.<br />
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These silver slippers are sent as a gift of remembrance of that little child of Bethlehem who you once claimed was your favorite philosopher.<br />
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Jesus is best known by me, as the…
<b>I IMAGINE something similar to this letter accompanying a pair of my shoes.</b><br />
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December 17, 2008<br />
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<br />
The White House<br />
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW<br />
Washington, DC 20500<br />
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Dear President George W. Bush,<br />
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As a NONVIOLENT person deeply anchored to what Jesus taught, I would never throw anything at you or any other.<br />
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These silver slippers are sent as a gift of remembrance of that little child of Bethlehem who you once claimed was your favorite philosopher.<br />
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Jesus is best known by me, as the Prince of Peace. He promised it is the Peacemakers who are the daughters and sons of God and that his sisters and brothers were those that did the will of the Father.<br />
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"What does God require? He has told you o'man!<br />
Be just, be merciful, and walk humbly with your Lord." -Micah 6:8<br />
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These silver slippers are sent in NONVIOLENT Solidarity and with deep compassion for the misery of all people caught in the crossfire of violence, especially refugees and children who pick up shrapnel that reads "Made in the U.S.A."<br />
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Most sincerely yours;<br />
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A patriotic American Irish dissident, who has been to Israel and occupied Palestine six times since June 2005,<br />
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Eileen Fleming, Founder WAWA:<br />
<a href="http://www.WeAreWideAwake.org/">http://www.WeAreWideAwake.org/</a><br />
Author <b>"Keep Hope Alive"</b><br />
<b>"Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"</b><br />
Producer "<b>30 Minutes With Vanunu"</b> and <b>"13 Minutes with Vanunu"</b><br />
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War is Over<br />
If you Want It<br />
War is Over<br />
As soon as nobody shows up to fight it.Shministim: Leader's in the Way to a New Israeltag:mypeace.tv,2008-12-12:1992146:BlogPost:185842008-12-12T13:53:35.000Zeileen fleminghttps://mypeace.tv/profile/eileenfleming
Shministim means “twelfth-graders” in Hebrew and military service is mandatory upon graduation from Israeli high school.<br />
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The Shministim are Israeli youth of conscience who refuse to serve in the Israeli Army because it is the force that enforces Israel’s 40+-year occupation of indigenous Palestinians.<br />
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The first Shministim letter was sent to Prime Minister Golda Meir. In 2008 alone, one hundred youth have signed the following letter, which cost them a jail term in an Israeli military prison,…
Shministim means “twelfth-graders” in Hebrew and military service is mandatory upon graduation from Israeli high school.<br />
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The Shministim are Israeli youth of conscience who refuse to serve in the Israeli Army because it is the force that enforces Israel’s 40+-year occupation of indigenous Palestinians.<br />
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The first Shministim letter was sent to Prime Minister Golda Meir. In 2008 alone, one hundred youth have signed the following letter, which cost them a jail term in an Israeli military prison, ranging from 21 to 28 days. For those who refuse to wear the military uniform, they are punished with solitary confinement.<br />
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<b><br />
The Shministim Letter of 2008:</b><br />
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We, high-school graduate teens, declare that we shall work against the Israeli occupation and oppression policy in the occupied territories and the territories of Israel. Therefore we will refuse to take part of these actions, which are being done under our name as part of the IDF.<br />
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Our refusal comes first and foremost as a protest on the separation, control, oppression and killing policy held by the state of Israel in the occupied territories, as we understand that this oppression, killing and routing of hatred will never lead us to peace, and they are all contradictory to the basic values a society that pretends to be democratic should have.<br />
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All the members of this group believe in developing the value of social work. We are not refusing to serve the society we live in, but are protesting against the occupation and the ways of actions which the militaristic system holds as it is today- crushing civil rights, discriminating on a racial base and acting opposing international laws.<br />
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We oppose the actions taken in the name of the “defense” of the Israeli society (Checkpoints, targeted killing, apartheid roads-available for Jews only, curfews etc.) that serve the occupation and exploitation policy , annex more conquered territories to the State of Israel and tramples the rights of the Palestinian population in an aggressive manner. These actions serve as a band-aid covering a bleeding wound, and as a limited and temporary solution that will accelerate and aggravate the conflict further.<br />
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We expostulate the plundering and the theft of territories and source of income to the Palestinians in exchange to the expansion of the settlements, reasoning to defend Israeli territories. In addition, we oppose any transformation of Palestinian cities and villages to ghettos without minimal living conditions or income sources enclosed by the separation wall.<br />
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We also protest the humiliating and disrespectful behavior of the military forces towards Palestinians in the West Bank; violence towards demonstrators, public humiliations, arrests, destruction of property regardless to any safety or defense needs, all of which violate global human rights and international law.<br />
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The wall and blockades surround the Palestinian Territories and serve as a halter around the Palestinian’s neck. The soldiers who commit crimes under the patronage and protection of their commanders reflect the image of the Israeli society; a destructive and surprising society that is incapable of accepting its neighboring nation as a partner and not as an enemy.<br />
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In order to hold an effective dialogue between the two societies, we, the well-established and stronger society, have the responsibility of establishing and strengthening the other. Only with a more socially and financially established partner could we work towards peace rather than one-sided retaliation acts. Rather than supporting those citizens who have hope for peace, the military cast sanctions and pushes more and more people towards acts of extreme violence and escalation.<br />
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We hereby challenge every citizen who wonders if the military's policy in the occupied territories is conducive to the progression of the peace process, to discover by himself/ herself the truth and to lift the veil which distorts the reality of the situation; to verify statistical data; to look for the humane side in him/her and in the society which stands in front of him/her, to disprove the myths that were routed within us regarding the necessity of the IDF's in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, and to stand up against every action which he finds irrational and illegal.<br />
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In a place were there are humans, there is someone to talk to. Therefore, we ask to create a dialogue that goes beyond the power struggle, the retaliation and one-sided attrition actions; to disprove the "No Partner" myth, which is leading to a lose-lose situation of an ongoing frustration, and to move to more humane methods.<br />
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We cannot hurt in the name of defense or imprison in the name of freedom; therefore we cannot be moral and serve the occupation.<br />
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Signed<br />
Members of the Shministim Letter 2008.<br />
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After these conscientious objectors serve their sentence, they are once again drafted. When they refuse a second time, they face the same sentence, and there is literally no end to the number of times these forward thinking youth will return to jail as an act of conscience and courageous dissent from a country that has not kept its very own words:<br />
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"On the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee freedom of religion [and] <b>conscience</b> and will be faithful to the Charter of the United Nations." - May 14, 1948. The Declaration of the Establishment of Israel<br />
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John Mearsheimer, recently wrote a book review of Avraham Burg's, <b><i>The Holocaust is Over,</i></b> from which I excerpt:<br />
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His core message is that Israel is in serious trouble at home and there is good reason to think that things could go horribly wrong in the future. He emphasizes that Israel has changed greatly since 1948. He quotes his mother on this point:<br />
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"This country is not the country that we built. We founded a different country in 1948, but I don't know where it's disappeared." Israel today, he writes, "is frighteningly similar to the countries we never wanted to resemble." Talking about Israel's shift to the right over time, he makes the eye-popping observation that "Jews and Israelis have become thugs."<br />
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Burg makes it clear that he is not equating Israel's past behavior with what happened in Nazi Germany, but he does see disturbing similarities between Israel and "the Germany that preceded Hitler."<br />
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[Burg] raises the possibility that there might be a civil war inside Israel, which "will be not a war between members of the Jewish people of different shades of beliefs, but an uncompromising struggle between good people and bad people anywhere."<br />
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…he fears that Israel will end up following in the footsteps of Germany, where "slow processes altered the perception of reality to the degree that insanity became the norm, and then we were exterminated. It happened in the land of poets and philosophers. There it was possible, and here too, in the land of the prophets. The establishment of a state run by rabbis and generals is not an impossible nightmare. I know how difficult this comparison is, but please open your ears, eyes, and hearts."<br />
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Mearshiemer continues:<br />
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Many American Jews think that Israel is in trouble today because of anti-Semitism or because it is surrounded by dangerous adversaries who threaten Israel's very existence. Israelis themselves, Burg reminds us, love to emphasize that "the entire world is against us."<br />
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He dismisses these wrongheaded beliefs: "Today we are armed to the teeth, better equipped than any other generation in Jewish history. We have a tremendous army, an obsession with security, and the safety net of the United States…<br />
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For Burg, Israel's troubles are self-inflicted…They think that everyone is out to get them, and that the Palestinians are hardly any different than the Nazis. Given this despairing perspective, Israelis believe that almost any means is justified to counter their enemies…Israeli society is plagued with a host of serious problems that are threatening to tear it apart…the Occupation, which has had a corrupting effect on Israeli society and has drawn criticism from all around the globe…<br />
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Moreover, Israelis did not focus much attention on the Holocaust in the first decade or so after 1948 and they showed surprisingly little sympathy for the survivors who came to Israel after the war. But all that changed in the 1960s… after Israel conquered the West Bank and Gaza in 1967 and began the Occupation...<br />
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All of this is to say that the best way to rescue Israel from its plight is not simply to get beyond the Holocaust, but to end the Occupation.[end]<br />
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The SHMINISTIM youth are on the forefront of helping to dismantle the Occupation and that will enable many Jews to get beyond the Jewish Holocaust, for these youth are driven by conscience and truth.<br />
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You can help these young Israeli Conscientious Objectors just by filling in a form @<br />
<a href="%20http://december18th.org/">http://december18th.org/</a><br />
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Your message will be hand delivered to the Israeli Minister of Defense by Israeli peace activists on December 18, 2008 The Shministim Day of Action.<br />
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Join them on Face Book:<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46805270728&ref=ts">http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46805270728&ref=ts</a><br />
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John Mearsheimer's Full Book Review:<br />
<a href="%20http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/09/for_american_readers_the_great/"><br />
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/09/for_american_readers_the_great/</a>Sermon on the Mount spun for the 21st Centurytag:mypeace.tv,2008-12-11:1992146:BlogPost:183802008-12-11T14:46:36.000Zeileen fleminghttps://mypeace.tv/profile/eileenfleming
On Armistice Day, 1948 General Omar Nelson Bradley warned, "We live in a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants, in a world that has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. We have solved the mystery of the atom and forgotten the lessons of the Sermon on The Mount. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about dying than we know about living."<br />
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About 2,000 years ago, when Christ was about 33, he hiked up a hill and sat down under an olive tree and began…
On Armistice Day, 1948 General Omar Nelson Bradley warned, "We live in a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants, in a world that has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. We have solved the mystery of the atom and forgotten the lessons of the Sermon on The Mount. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about dying than we know about living."<br />
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About 2,000 years ago, when Christ was about 33, he hiked up a hill and sat down under an olive tree and began to teach the people;<br />
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"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven."<br />
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In other words: it is those who know their own spiritual poverty, their own limitations and sins honestly and trust God loves them in spite of themselves who already live in the Kingdom of God.<br />
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How comforted we will all be, when we see, we haven't got a clue, as to the depth and breadth of pure love and mercy of The Divine Mystery of The Universe.<br />
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God's name in ancient Aramaic is Abba which means Daddy as much as Mommy and He/She: The Lord has said, "My ways are not your ways. My thoughts are not yours." -Isaiah 55:8<br />
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Christ proclaimed more: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."<br />
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The essence of meek is to be patient with ignorance, slow to anger and never hold a grudge. In other words: how comforted you will be when you also know humility; when you know yourself, the good and the bad, for both cut through every human heart.<br />
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"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be filled."<br />
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In other words: how comforted you will be when your greatest desire is to do what "God requires, and he has already told you what that is; BE JUST, BE MERCIFUL and walk humbly with your Lord."-Micah 6:8<br />
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"Blessed are the merciful, they will be shown mercy."<br />
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In other words: how comforted you will all be when you choose to return only kindness to your 'enemy.'<br />
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"For with the measure you measure against another, it will be measured back to you" Christ warns his disciples as he explains the law of karma in Luke 6:27-38.<br />
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"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they see God."<br />
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In other words: how comforted you will be when you WAKE UP and see God is already within you, within every man, every woman and every child. The Supreme Being is everywhere, the Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. Beyond The Universe -and yet so small; within the heart of every atom.<br />
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"Blessed are The Peacemakers: THEY shall be called the children of God."<br />
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And what a wonderful world it would be when we all seek peace by pursuing justice; for there can be none without the other.<br />
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"Blessed are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires, theirs is The Kingdom of Heaven."<br />
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And one fine day the lion will lie down with The Lamb and man will make war no more and that is the Kingdom of God.<br />
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The above is one in a continuing series: <b>A GREATER AWAKENING</b> freely available @<br />
<a href="http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=64&Itemid=195">http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=64&Itemid=195</a>