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Should California Divest from Israel? Zach Behrens, LAist Two new ballot initiatives were cleared for circulation this week by the Secretary of State's office. This is the stage where backers must get over 400,000 signatures from Californians to qualify for the ballot. Of the two, the most notable one would prohibit state retirement funds from investing in Israel. Specifically, the Public Employees’ Retirement System and State Teachers’ Retirement System would be verboten from "investing in companies doing business in Israel," according to the proposition's language. Continued: "Requires these funds to sell existing investments in companies that continue to do business in Israel. Requires divestment to comply with fiduciary responsibilities." Some investments would be excluded, such as humanitarian, health and educational efforts.  src: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/cleared-for-circulation.htm#1460
My government does nothing to change this violation of international law and in fact is complicit in the violation of the law because it provides $3.5 billion in taxpayers funds to Israel that supports these settlement activities. Just as it took local and state government campaigns to change Apartheid South Africa through boycotts and divestments, we plan a similar peaceful economic boycott and divestment of Israel until it ends its occupation of Palestine
Chris Yatooma Why do this? In an e-mail to LAist, the prop's sponsor explains. "It has been 17 years since the Oslo Peace Accords were signed between the Palestinians and the Israelis and the occupation and settlement of Palestine by Israel continues," writes Chris Yatooma. "My government does nothing to change this violation of international law and in fact is complicit in the violation of the law because it provides $3.5 billion in taxpayers funds to Israel that supports these settlement activities. Just as it took local and state government campaigns to change Apartheid South Africa through boycotts and divestments, we plan a similar peaceful economic boycott and divestment of Israel until it ends its occupation of Paletine." Interestingly enough, the Obama administration and Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have been at odds this week over a building 1,600 housing units in east Jerusalem. And at UC Berkeley this week, the Associated Students of the school are urging the "the university and U.C. Board of Regents to divest from companies that supply Israel with materials allegedly used to perpetuate war crimes," according to Jweekly. In response, attorney and author Alan Dershowitz along with StandWithUs/Voice For Israel issued a statement about such actions. “Divesting from Israel is immoral, bigoted and if done by a state university, illegal,” the statement said. “It encourages terrorism and discouraged peace. …We will fight back against this selective bigotry that hurts the good name of the University of California.” If Yatooma's prop goes to the ballot, expect a larger debate. As for the other initiative cleared for circulation, it seeks to change how ballot summaries are written, changing the duty from Attorney General to Legislative Analyst, among other changes. Two versions of this initiative were submitted. California Public Divest from Israel Act src: http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/initiatives/pdfs/i910_initiative_10-0004.pdf Source: http://laist.com/2010/03/18/2_new_ballot_initiatives_cleared_fo.php   Also Of InterestPage URL: http://www.inminds.co.uk/article.php?id=10312
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 [all videos (over 200)..] Featured MP3 Podcast  "1763 in the Ohio river valley you got Lord Jeffrey Amherst committing to written order an instruction to his subordinate Henry Bouquet, having been defeated by Pontiac Ottawa confederacy in the field. The order essentially says that they have been defeated militarily and is therefore necessary for Amherst forces to request a peace, to sue for peace from Pontiacs people. He instructs Bouquet to convene a parlay with the Indian leadership for that purpose. And as is the custom, as is common courtesy among native populations as was known to the Brits at that time, it would be necessary for those who requested the council to give gifts to those requested to attend. Make those gifts, Amherst says, items taken from a smallpox infirmary in order, I'm going to quote directly now, this isn't a paraphrase: 'in order that we may extirpate this execrable race'. Now key is on this last word, had he said that we might eradicate the opposing combatants, their military capacity, their warriors.. what ever term he wanted to use, it would have been biological warefare. But he didn't say anything about that, he said the 'race'. His intent was to use biological means, to use disease, quite explicitly so, to eradicate an entire population group. And Bouquet was also kind enough to commit to writing in his response the next day, I have done as instructed, dispersing three blankets, two handkerchiefs and sundry other items, hopefully, he says, they will have the desired result. They did.. the lowest estimate of the number of people who died of smallpox as a result of that little gesture of friendship and goodwill is a 100,000!" American Indian scholar, activist in the struggle for liberation of Indigenous Peoples in America On the publication of the book 'A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas, 1492 to the Present', 1997 [29min / 10Mb] [need flash]
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