We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, October 19, 2015

Israel Receives $3.1B In US Aid While The Middle East’s Poor Struggle To Survive

Click here to access article by Kit O'Connell from Mint Press News.
...while the Middle East struggles through a historic refugee crisis, Israel is using U.S. taxpayer money to fuel its war crimes against Palestine and oppression of refugees.
The $3.1 billion dollar figure is aid already given to Israel in 2015. From today's report in World Socialist Web Site we learn:
General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, flew to Tel Aviv Sunday to discuss a 10-year military aid package worth some $3.7 billion a year. The pledge of increased American military support came in the midst of an increasingly brutal Israeli crackdown on Palestinians within both the occupied territories and Israel itself.
Of course, the poor in the US would also like to have a piece of this money, particularly the elderly like me: I struggle to live on $1100/month Social Security benefits. Our schools, teachers, and highways, bridges, etc. could also use this money,