First there were the rains; lots and lots of rains; rains that seemed to go on for weeks - when we thought there couldn't be any more, down it came once again and by the bucket.
Then the heat -- record breaking temps, day after day after day. Sweat city. Power outages in poor neighborhoods that lasted for a week or ten days. People dying from heat -- in New York, in California, in Chicago. But, hey! Not to worry - according to the President, global warming is still just a theory - one that scientists are not really sure of. Get out and drive that SUV and then drive it some more!
One picture and five words....says it all.
But then the rains stopped and the heat abated. And the last few weeks have been a delight - a summer to enjoy. You could almost think that everything was all right with the world. That is, until the Mideast exploded. Two Israeli soldiers kidnapped in Lebanon gave the Israeli government the pretext to flatten and destroy a country. Using U.S.-supplied weapons ($3 billion a year!) Israel invaded, bombed and killed over a thousand innocent civilians, destroyed their neighbor's infrastructure and created an environmental disaster of immense proportions. A million Lebanese, just beginning to recover from decades of civil war and Israeli occupation, were made homeless. In return, Hezbollah fired missiles at Israeli cities, killing dozens of civilians and forcing thousands to flee their homes for safer places.
All the while, Bush and his evil emissaries, Rice ("we are re-making the Middle East") and the thug, Bolton, did their best to let the slaughter proceed, stalling attempts at cease-fire in what remains of international diplomacy -- the United Nations.
The world cried out in protest of this horrible war and the awful crimes being committed in the name of self-defense. But Americans never got to hear or see the massive world-wide protests, victims of the U.S. corporate media which turns reality upside down, making heroes of villains and blind sheep of citizens. Our Congress (with a few brave exceptions) rushed to support the aggression, shipping their ally more and more bombs and bullets, as if to say the hotter the better and never mind the possibilities of even wider conflict. The Democrats lined up to praise the President for his unbending support of Israel and his unending war on terror. One could imagine the smile of satisfaction on Karl Rove's ugly face as he manipulated the so-called opposition party to give their fealty to the war president. Pitiful.
In Brooklyn, as across the country, many citizens would not bow down to the war and the unfolding horror. Having opposed the occupation and destruction of Iraq, they could not remain silent as that war spread to the rest of the region. On Wednesday, August 9th, over a hundred Brooklynites, organized by Brooklyn Parents For Peace, marched through the heart of Downtown Brooklyn's shopping district with signs demanding "Enough! Cease-fire now!"
War is not the answer! Photo by Sam Koprak
Brooklyn marched for peace -- in Iraq and in Lebanon. Photo by Sam Koprak
Brooklyn Parents' vice-chair Rusti Eisenberg spoke eloquently of her anger and dismay at the level of violence that been unleashed against the people of Lebanon and pointed to the Bush administration as the root of the problem.
David Tykulsker, vice-chair of BPFP, called for pressure on Brooklyn members of Congress to oppose U.S. shipment of arms to inflame the crisis in the mideast. Photo by Sam Koprak
The committee has vowed to increase the heat against the members of the Brooklyn Congressional delegation who have been silent in the face of the terrible violence unleashed against innocents on both sides of the conflict. Notable exceptions have been Representatives Nydia Velasquez and Major Owens, both of whom signed on to the Kucinich resolution to demand an immediate cease fire.
To participate with Brooklyn Parents For Peace you should check out their website which lists schedules of their various committees. Click here!
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