US CONGRESSIONAL BILL LISTS ME AS HAMAS, AL QAEDA LINKED TERRORIST
Carrying on from the ludicrous claim by the Israeli Defence Forces (Offence Forces) that I am a ‘terrorist operative for Hamas’, myself and a US citizen, along with the IHH humanitarian aid organisation and several Turkish nationals are named as having ‘known links to Al Qaeda, Hamas, and other terrorist organizations’ in a US Congressional Bill now being processed through the traitorous US Congress. Here is the applicable paragraph;
‘(9) In 2010, IHH organized a flotilla that included the ship Mavi Marmara carrying 40 IHH members, including Fatima Mahmadi, Ken O’Keefe, Hassan Iynasi, Hussein Urosh, Ahmad Umimon, and others with known links to Al Qaeda, Hamas, and other terrorist organizations who were armed with 100 metal rods, 200 knives, 150 military self-defense vests, 50 wooden clubs, gas masks, and a telescopic sight for a gun.’
Read the entire bill here.
It seems we are living in Orwell’s ’1984′.
In the last year and a half alone I have been jailed and/or interrogated five times by four governments under Orwellian terrorism pretexts; once by the Israelis (in which I was beaten), once by Canadians (held for two days), once by the Americans, and twice by the British. That is just the last 18 months. So what happened 18 months ago? The Israeli massacre on the Mavi Marmara in which I was involved in disarming two of their commandoes. Israeli power brokers and Zionist agents have hated me ever since. Even more so when I referred to “Israel’s best” as “cowards”, on BBC HardTALK .
Following on, we have the British government, Israels alter-ego, doing their part in the ongoing slander campaign against me by arresting me on bogus ‘Fraud by misrepresentation’ allegations; allegations that were made by the hijackers of my Trade Not Aid mission. A mission that addresses the needs and desires of the Palestinian people to escape charitable dependancy and live a dignified life.
So the UK police have used blatantly spurious allegations as the excuse to arrest me and steal my property for the second time in six months. They have also stolen my DNA (by forcefully removing 15 strands of my hair), a gross abuse of human rights and useful ‘evidence’ to frame me in the future. Oh but they wouldn’t do that now would they?
In the last eighteen months I have had my personal property stolen and/or seized five times, once each by Israel, Canada and the US, twice by the Brits. Each time of course everything on my hard drives is copied and scrutinised with a fine tooth comb by ‘intelligence agencies’. These agencies are in fact terrorist agencies of the highest order, especially when we look at Mossad, the CIA and MI6. Imagine having all of your business and private matters in the hands of such enemies? Continuously. So right now it is the Brits’ turn, having stolen and retaining possession of my property for over two months, with an eye to keeping it until April 2012. Keep in mind this is the second time in less than six months the Brits have done this. They have two of my computers and several hard drives, plus my phone, personal documents and even my camera.
There is always a way for governments to violate the rights of the people, in this case the facilitators are Catherine Myles, Jez Cuthbert and Cath Jenkins, primary agents in the hijacking of my Trade Not Aid mission. These crooks falsely alleged that I had defrauded them by saying my mission was a “charity” when in fact it is and always has been a non-profit social enterprise. Their actions fit the classic profile of infiltrators aligned with or working directly for Special Branch, a notorious element of the UK police who make infiltration, subversion and even murder their business.
The likelihood of Special Branch involvement is made harder to ignore given that the allegations against me hold absolutely no weight whatsoever, never mind the fact that they are made by provable fraudsters.
Let us look to my press conference in Gaza last May, a press conference the police have been made aware of, it makes clear that my method of effecting positive social change is, once again, through TRADE… NOT AID, via “social enterprise”;
Additionally, my bank statements prove that I take no pay. So who is the “fraudster” exactly? The police, government, mass-media and the banksters perhaps?
The fact is that my history of activism, social enterprise and ability to articulate the crimes of the powers that be is what has made me a target. In terms of where I invest my time, the majority of it is dedicated to social enterprise. Accordingly, I won a fellowship position with the prestigious London School for Social Entrepreneurs in 2010. I was also featured in Social Enterprise Magazine twice. Both times highlighting my Aloha Palestine trade mission for Gaza.
Featured in Social Enterprise Magazine for my Aloha Palestine Mission to conduct SafeTrade with Palestine under the auspice of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership
So the record shows my position over and over and over again, Trade, Not Aid, is what is needed in Palestine and what I have spent years to develop. This is completely undeniable and a matter of public record. Yet the police arrested me because they saw merit in Catherine Myles, Jez Cuthbert and Cath Jenkins claiming I said I represented a “charity”. It is the most pathetic, transparent excuse to steal my property and thwart my humanitarian work and why should any of this surprise us? It shouldn’t, because the British government is every bit as traitorous in its bend over subservience to the Apartheid state of Israel, as is the American government; traitors all.
So I have no money, again 100% verifiable, because I take no salary and do not even cover my expenses. In fact I have incurred provable debt for the work I have done. In particular with the playground I built in Gaza for the Samouni children.
Whats more, although I have the legal and moral right to take some pay for the work I do, from the money I raise no less, I have not taken any pay since early 2009 and that was a pittance which was agreed by the donor who supported the launch of Aloha Palestine. How many directors of charities, organisations or social enterprises work for free? I don’t know but I have, and the reason I do not take pay is because there is never enough money to do all that needs to be done. So I do the best I can with the limited resources I have got.
Myself with the Samouni kids in Gaza
What is even more astonishing is that I have absolute proof that Catherine Myles, Jez Cuthbert and Cath Jenkins are guilty of the fraud they accused me of. The police know this because proof has been given to them beyond what I have posted here. Despite this, the police have used the allegations of fraudsters who are 100% provably guilty of soliciting donations for a charity that did not exist, as the basis of arresting/harassing me on that very same charge.
What’s more, these same people have attempted to give cover for their theft of Trade Not Aid cash, donated items and vehicles by launching an un-Godly slander campaign in which they have said I am a thief, conman, womaniser, adulterer, that my children are illegitimate, that I am a ‘Nazi’ and a ‘white supremacist’, that I was nearly arrested in Gaza twice, that my Palestinian wife is ‘worse than me’ and that I have effectively stolen from the Samouni family in order to fatten my pockets.
This is a classic example of ‘Ritual Defamation’ as practised most effectively by the greatest liars and defamers of our time, the Zionists.
I have never referred to Aloha Palestine, the Samouni Project or Trade Not Aid as charities and I have taken no wages for my work since early 2009, and yet I have been arrested by one government for fraud, accused of or linked to terrorism by two others.
Will the UK police arrest the real fraudsters? Not a chance. Why? Because their objective is the same as Israel and Americas, perpetual harm for the people and nation of Palestine. Anyone in or from these nations who seriously endeavours to effect justice in Palestine is in effect, regarded as an enemy of the state.
Back to the pitiable traitors Myles, Cuthbert and Jenkins, here they are soliciting money for the non-existent charity ‘Palestine Aid’.
Here is the Facebook promotion for 'Palestine Aid' the 'charity'
One of many solicitations for donations for the non-existent 'charity' - 'Palestine Aid'
Jez Cuthbert, one of the accusers whose testimony was used by UK police to arrest me for fraud, committing fraud himself.
The main hijacker of Trade Not Aid Catherine Myles committing fraud by soliciting donations for a charity that does not exist.
With initial cover by the UK police, Palestine Aid is what these same scoundrels attempted to turn Trade, Not Aid, into. And this attempted transformation reveals something extremely important to understand if we truly care about the people of Palestine, and that is that a trade mission like mine is hugely problematic to the Zionist/EU partnership. Why? Because my Trade Not Aid mission will aggressively expose the EU’s disgustingly immoral trade with the Apartheid state of Israel, trade that amounts to over 25bn Euros annually, while the people of Gaza live in abject, donor dependent poverty.
Trade disparity between the EU & Israel vs. the EU & Palestine
Make no mistake there is massive money made within the ‘Aid Industry’ as I call it. Money to be lost by Israel should it lose its grip over the captive market of Gaza that survives on the aid dependency tit that Israel controls. The EU’s role in providing cover for the collective punishment of the people of Gaza, which includes over 800,000 children, is massively important to Israel. As I have said my mission intends to highlight the EU’s criminal complicity and active support for Israeli crimes in a bold and damning way. And it is through shaming the EU that we shall open up trade for real and end the blockade of Gaza.
We as people who claim to care about Palestine have done no favours to its people by investing so, so much of our energy into aid. We are reinforcing the aid culture that Israel wants and the EU facilitates. Well I listened to the people in Palestine, and they never told me “we want more aid”. They talk about justice and dignity, and that is why I created Trade Not Aid.
Given that my mission seriously threatens the status quo, I find no favour at all with the government or their police in the UK. But Catherine Myles, Jez Cuthbert and Cath Jenkins most certainly do, hell they seem to hold a ‘get out of jail free card’, and that pretty much says it all.
Fraudsters Catherine Myles, Jez Cuthbert & Cath Jenkins
But hold on, it gets even better.
Not only can we establish that those accusing me of fraud are in fact fraudsters and thieves, but the police have been informed by myself, my solicitor and others that the primary fraudster, Catherine Myles, has had at least £10,000 (but probably twice that or more) deposited in good faith to her account for the benefit of the Trade Not Aid mission, and that money is still completely unaccounted for. The UK Police have the authority to verify what we have alleged, and if they were not stooges for the powers that be they would have established beyond any doubt that Catherine Myles has zero credibility, and furthermore she is a thief who has stolen over £10,000 of donations, holding it for purposes unknown for over 6 months now… with police cover no less. So who are the fraudsters?
Say hello to the Trade Not Aid hijacking crew; Catherine Myles (aka Soraya Fitzgerald), Saeb Shaath, Sammi Coulthard (aka Saja Rana & Maitreyi Atmaja), Jez Cuthbert, Allison Hubbard (aka Vera Lynn) Ismail Patel (aka Iggle Piggle), Cath Jenkins and Yousef Khalfan.
It has become crystal clear to me that the whole reason for this travesty is to justify the police stealing my property and casting doubt on my integrity. At this point it looks like the UK police will conclude their sham investigation by returning my stolen property after six months and saying it was all a “civil matter”. At which point I have to rely on the corrupt UK “justice” system to recoup this stolen money and property. This all takes time and money and more importantly it delays the mission. Which is the whole point now isn’t it, to get me to give up or at the very least to delay it all, water it down, Zionize it and make it another bullshit band-aid on a gushing wound ‘aid mission’.
Watch this video to see what I am talking about when I refer to the ‘aid industry’ and how those running it are doing so to inflict massive harm to Palestine;
Here is the truth, the British, US and Israeli governments are one and the same, a true ‘Axis of Evil’ comprised of puppets of the powers that be. The police within these nations have proven over and over again that they are servants to these traitors and tyrants. “Just following orders” as it were, like any good Nazi would.
Catherine Myles and Saeb Shaath have played the critical roles in thwarting the Trade Not Aid mission. Myles was the key infiltrator, subverter, Shaath was the Palestinian turncoat who gave false legitimacy to the hijacking. He is also responsible for attempting to turn ‘Trade Not Aid’ into ‘Palestine Aid’, a non-existent charity focussed on bringing more second hand shoes and stuffed animals to Gaza. Ultimately these people are victimising the already terribly victimised Samouni family, all the while using disgusting slander to support their treachery. This has put innocent women in grave danger in Gaza, once again all done with the UK police providing cover.
Fraudster Catherine Myles and Turncoat Slanderer Saeb Shaath
The point of all this madness is to intimidate me, it has not worked. Listing me as a terrorist is meant to scare me. It has not worked. Stealing my property and copying every last bit of my business and personal files is meant to frustrate me and stop me from carrying on. Once again, not happening.
While these bastards in MI5-6 and/or ‘Special Branch’ are copying every single file I have ever saved, looking into every single thing I have ever done, I say to them you are shameless cowards all. Good luck to you in doing your personality profiling of me, trying to find any weakness in me, any area to exploit, good luck.
And of course, if there was even a shred of evidence that I was a fraudster, they would lock me up in a heartbeat.
And if I was Arab or Muslim? I would have been put away long ago, or outright assassinated. But I am white, making things just a little bit trickier.
And so these pathetic minions will have to make something up. When and if I am judged by my maker, I have absolutely nothing to fear. I am not one of the traumatised, fear induced masses, I will die with honour no matter what fraud or threat is used against me.
But I want this to be clear as well, for the honourable ‘intelligence’ agents or police reading this, I extend respect to you. I know you are there and I like many am counting on you to do the right thing when your orders amount to treason against the people. To the military, same thing. You are caught up in a machine that is using you, dishonouring you, and at some point you will know this and in order to redeem yourself you must speak out and disobey your unlawful, immoral orders.
The lesson here? The lesson is that when the ultimate fraudsters and terrorists call you a fraudster, terrorist, womaniser, thief, Nazi, conman, etc., you must be doing something right. So regardless of the effort to stop me from doing what I do, the next phase of the Trade Not Aid Mission will be launched, and we will see just how much damage to this cause the Zionist slander tactics have had. Either way I will never turn my back on my Palestinian family, whether it is my wife and children who have Palestinian blood, or my extended Palestinian family who I love deeply; there will be justice in Palestine.
For now however the world remains upside down, it is up to us to turn it round and make it right. Until such time I will take the accusations, arrests and harassment as a badge of honour.
PS – On the bright side, I filmed 26 stories in Gaza that have been edited and will be published on YouTube in the next few weeks. With the initial editing done we need only finish them off to the standard I require. Thankfully this entire job was made possible because I transferred all the video files to a friend before the police stole my property. For sure however this theft has prevented me from doing some important work, and of course that is part of the plan. I do not have my most vital piece of equipment, the laptop I use for all sorts of business, most notably my videos. I have had to borrow a machine to do this as I do not have the money to replace my equipment once again.
Slander vs. Sanity – Pathological Liars & A Message to Muslims
UPDATE – For the idiots who bought the lies and slander of Catherine Myles (aka Soraya Fitzgerald), Saeb Shaath, Jez Cuthbert, Cath Jenkins, Allison Hubbard (aka Vera Lynn), Sammi Coulthard (aka Saja Rana & Maitreyi Atmaja), Mary Rizzo, Mary Shepherd, Miri Wood, Jo Ann Westcott and court jester Ismail Patel (aka Iggle Piggle), here is a little revisit of a post that shows just how stupid some of you can be.
Say hello to the Trade Not Aid hijacking crew; Catherine Myles (aka Soraya Fitzgerald), Saeb Shaath, Sammi Coulthard (aka Saja Rana & Maitreyi Atmaja), Jez Cuthbert, Allison Hubbard (aka Vera Lynn) Ismail Patel (aka Iggle Piggle), Cath Jenkins and Yousef Khalfan.
You see, a pack of lies, repeated parrot style, is all that is needed to dupe the idiot. For the robber barons named above the justification for the theft of the Samouni Project/Trade Not Aid was based on me being a;
1) Liar
2) Thief
3) Womaniser/Adulturer
4) Nazi/white supremacist
5) Zionist/CIA
6) Money launderer
7) Wealthy landowner
8) Murderer (yes I murdered or was involved in the murder of Vittorio Arrigoni according to some of these people)
9) Blackmailer
10) Violent thug
11) Abuser of women
12) Media whore
13) Basically I am simply a conman using Palestine and human rights to rake in millions.
More lies from Catherine Myles, once again no contact from any police because I did nothing she says or implies here.
For the idiot, the fact that so many people can say or repeat so many bad things is all that is needed. So who pays? This may seem a rhetorical question but it is not; so seriously who pays? Well hard as it is to believe a person like me, someone grounded in morality and genuine brotherhood can never be victimised because victimisation is rooted in denying ones humanity, and I will never do that. So I am not the victim here, I am fine, continuously blessed actually, despite the personal discomfort and injustice of the hijacking. The truth is that not being on the road for at least two months has resulted in me spending more time with my family than I had thought possible. As a result I am a better, hands on father. A true blessing if ever there was one, turning a negative into a positive big time.
Slanderer Jo Ann Westcott
So if I am not the victim, who is? Well first let me say that I have experienced for many years this smear tactic, I have been accused of being a thief and CIA and other such slanders since 2003 when I lead the Human Shield Action to Iraq. It was at that time that the powers that be could see that I might present a bit of a problem for them. I am not alone in this characterisation, so it is nothing new at all to any of us who have stood up and faced the tyrant’s head on. To the contrary, it is an inevitability to be slandered, as this is one of the favourite tactics of the tyrants and their minions. If you are doing something real, you will be attacked, end of.
Slanderer Mary Rizzo
If I was not being attacked you could rightly write me off as a blow hard that the tyrants can ignore. Clearly the tyrants, the Zionists, American imperialists and so on do not like me at all, and they have a supply of money that has up to now been as abundant as the paper they print their fiat, monopoly money on. And so it goes they will do all they can to assassinate me physically (although this would have to look like an “accident” or like Muslims or Palestinians did it). Or they will do all they can to assassinate my character, which is exactly what this well orchestrated campaign is all about, such is the reward for the type of work I do.
So let us return to who are the real victims in the campaign to smear me and steal my mission? No surprise here, first among them is the Samouni family. The bond that we created is a powerful one, one that has lead to more people being aware of the hideous crimes Israel committed against this family. For this reason alone these tyrants are scared about me being part of the Samouni family, because I have the ability to make their story more well known, and importantly, to show the American people how they are guilty of slaughtering Samouni family members and more. Of course any intelligent observer would already have figured this out. Here is just one video that shows what I am talking about;
If the slander campaign against me were to be truly successful I would give up or rendered useless and the Samouni family could go on as they have, suffering, traumatised and to a great degree, hopeless. So let this be clear, those that have abandoned me and/or my mission, based on a pack of lies no less, have in truth abandoned the Samouni family. I could not steal from this family any more than I could steal from Palestine, to do so would be to steal from my own family. Did I leave Hawaii, my own business, money, life in paradise doing something I loved so I could take great risk with my life in order to exploit the people of Palestine and a family like the Samouni family? Idiots and dupes can believe such nonsense, and that is precisely who the slander crews prey on.
The slander continues and these same people (Saeb Shaath & Catherine Myles) are to this day attempting to steal all that was given to the Samouni Project/Trade Not Aid and turn it into their disgraceful 'Palestine Aid' sham.
So this brings us to the ultimate victims, the people of Palestine as a whole. Allies like myself, like my brother Vittorio Arrigoni, do not grow on trees. There are very few of us and although we are flawed human beings, our hearts and our conviction drive us to support justice in Palestine in every way possible. To kill people like Vittorio or assassinate my character serves nobody more than Israel because Palestinians lose essential allies whose only agenda is for truth and justice.
So as per usual it is lies and the gullibility of people that maintains the victimisation of the people of Palestine. As an example of just how stupid people can be, take a look at slanderer idiot Ismail Patel’s (aka Iggle Piggle) post and my response from September 22.
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=234620566586881 (since removed by Facebook, what a surprise)
This joker (Iggle Piggle) is part of the Catherine Myles, Saeb Shaath ‘Palestine Aid’ monstrosity, an ‘Aid’ organisation that is seriously attempting to steal vehicles, cash and cargo/aid given to me for the Samouni Project/Trade Not Aid, and pass it off as something given to them and their disgraceful project. Iggle Piggle announced last month that he proudly serves this pack of thieves.
What I am going to say here is critical to understanding how easy it is to manipulate some. Iggle Piggle stated in the linked post above that he had been “threatened” by me, a direct threat to his life and his “family”! And he further stated that he had this threat recorded and that the recording had been “handed to the police”. In addition his farcical “legal team” was advising him, that is code for Catherine Myles and the slander crew were guiding him in his lying ways. Iggle Piggle also said that I was a “bully” and that he and his family feared for their safety!
Iggle Piggle slander and lies
Here is the thing, an idiot who knows nothing of how slander works and whose memory is so Goldfish like that all the good work a person has done can vanish in the wake of a lie(s), will believe such lies because “surely he/she would not say he/she had recorded evidence of such threats if he/she did not have it.” Ah, actually, that is exactly what a pathological liar and slanderer will do. This is just one tactic of the slanderer, and an effective one for the idiot, the idiot will believe or at least give certain credence to the lie and when the evidence is never provided or the arrest of the alleged criminal never happens their Goldfish memory forgets such matters and all that sticks is the mud of the mudslinger.
Never once contacted about any of this rubbish because it is all lies. Shamefully using now departed Patrick McManus (a friend and supporter) as cover to curry Irish favour just like the Chameleon Catherine Myles does with less intelligent Muslims.
And you know what, if you have no morals, if lying is a thing that comes easy to you, as it most certainly does to the Israeli’s, then this is a great tactic. If you are like me however, unwilling to return lies with more lies, and your only weapon is the truth, you are at a disadvantage as the position of attack with such lies is more damaging then the defence of ones character with truth. Lack of evidence matters not to the dumb witted, outrageous accusations ala News of the World sensationalism is all that is needed.
Anyway, here it is over one month later, my alleged threat to Iggle Piggle and his family that was recorded and handed to the police has resulted in… nothing. I have received no call, no visit, no nothing. Apparently I can violently threaten an entire family and nothing happens to me… right.
The truth is Iggle Piggle, along with the Catherine Myles, Saeb Shaath hijack team are pathological liars. Saeb Shaath will go down as among the most treacherous and treasonous of all, he has been party to a theft of goods destined for the Samouni family. He has acted to cut the family out altogether and this is proved by his own words, he is a traitor in this regard.
“The best thing is to make Trade Not Aid block Aloha Palestine and Samouni Project.” – Saeb Shaath July 25, 2011
Never mind me, this has never been a personal dispute, this is about infiltration, lies and Zionist styled treachery, taken right out of the Zionist handbook. But despite the early success of this plan it is beginning to crumble, and soon enough even the idiots are going to take a big bite of humble pie and admit, “I was a flippin idiot!” Bank on this.
And a special note of shame shall go to any and all Muslims who bought into, fed or spread this backbiting and slander, something that every genuine Muslim knows is expressly condemned in Islam. Here is an example of how you have been played, by a false Muslim like Catherine Myles;
Catherine Myles pretending to be a Muslim in order to dupe less intelligent Muslims.
This email was sent to a witness of the Samouni Project/Trade Not Aid fraud and theft, this witness was subsequently unsuccessfully blackmailed by the fork tongued, false Muslim Catherine Myles. It is just this same type of sweet-talkin, false Muslim chatter that is used to prepare the unwitting dupe into believing the next stage of slander;
Yes I am a Nazi & white supremacist with a Palestinian wife and two Palestinian children. How many Muslims believe this?
Some Muslims in particular have turned your back on a brother, me, a genuine brother who has done more than his fair share justice. You turned your back and in a cowardly way let some false Muslim con artists spread filthy lies in true Zionist style without so much as a peep. You have not only acted an idiot, you have partaken in a plot to steal from the Samouni family.
For my part, I deserve to be condemned for my horrible judge of character, although we must have some level of trust in order to effectively work for justice, there were things I could have done to prevent them from driving off with vehicles, cash and donated goods. For my part I will do as I have always done, learn, grow, be that much stronger.
Slander accusing me of stealing money from the campaign.
Truth showing Catherine Myles trying to get me to keep funds for my expenses.
To my Muslim brothers and sister, with regard to what these vipers have accused me of, Allah knows the truth, as do I. As a Muslim I believe your duty was to repel any accusation not based on verifiable fact… especially since the verifiable truth of my work for justice is undeniable. According to my understanding of Islam a brother would have stood by me until the accusations were made consistent with the facts. But that was never the case for too many of you. When it comes to friends like these, they are not really friends at all.
Disgusting falseness from Catherine Myles
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful”
[al-Hujuraat 49:12]
http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/23328
Let me repeat one thing, I along with Allah know exactly what I have done. I know the truth, and the truth is I could not give any more for the cause and thus I am blessed. Only the most infantile and mentally stunted man believes that “an easy life” is a blessed life. My life is full of challenges because I fear not the consequences. My love of truth and justice is such that I will never sacrifice my honour, I will die with my self-respect and that is not something many people can honestly say to themselves. To say such a thing and to have it be true requires that a person do right no matter what the cost. I can say this… can you?
For a person to say of another, “He cannot control his tongue (or he has a loose tongue)” is undoubtedly one of those things that a person would dislike to have said about him. If it is true, then it is gheebah (backbiting), and if it is not true then it is buhtaan (slander).
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2317
http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/23328
Simply praying five times a day does not a Muslim make, even I know this as a non-Muslim. With regard to Catherine Myles or Saeb Shaath I have spent considerable time with both, months together all tolled, and I have seen neither pray even once, much less act like a Muslim in terms of honesty, fairness, loyalty and justice.
Disgusting falseness from Saeb Shaath (Birthday Card to me 4 days before he and Catherine Myles instigated the theft of the Samouni Project/Trade Not Aid.
And this brings me to my last point on this matter, does it matter that I am not a Muslim? The Islamaphobes want people to believe that deep down all Muslims see non-Muslims as infidels and much like the Talmudic version of Judaism, the fingernail of a Jew/Muslim, is worth more than all of the goy/infidel life. To some Muslims I have never truly been a brother, I am simply a non-Muslim, slandered and easily abandoned despite the good work I have done and continue to do for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
So read the above post again (removed by Facebook) and know that Iggle Piggle and that whole clan are nothing but a pack of lying thieves, and know that I will recover most of the stolen goods, but not all, because WE did not confront these miscreants as We should have.
No worries, a few good people and myself are doing the work that needs to be done, the Samouni family will have justice, and the mission I created will achieve its goal, because WE shall indeed make it so.
As a last note here, I have far too much fruitful and important work to spend much more time on the assets and agents of deception and or defending myself. The only real reason I am doing this is to help people understand the nature of deception and how it is used to divide and control. It is important we understand these methods and what is happening to me offers a great opportunity to educate those who are otherwise oblivious to these tactics. The lying and slandering, infiltrating and subverting strategy is an immensely effective one and it has prevented much good work from being done. Learn through me and let us become wiser and stronger together.
The divide and rule strategy is essential to the maintenance of tyranny, we as people must transcend the artificial barriers put between us by these tyrants and realise that we are all part of one human family, our collective fate inseparably intertwined. Using lies to foster division is as old as tyranny itself, they are one and the same because a people in the knowledge of the truth could never be so stupid as to fight each other while the tyrants look down on them as the dupes they are. This is our prison, and only we can free ourselves from our self-imposed prison.
TJP
One for the Women
This is one of those very unplanned articles born out of inspiration in Egypt.
I arrived in Egypt after being blocked by the Egyptian security services four separate times over the course of nearly three months. During this period, with an easy opportunity for attention and exposure, I kept my mouth almost completely shut. In the meantime I have quietly done what I could to depart Gaza and return to my family and to join my wife for the birth of our second child. Instead I was repeatedly blocked, missed the birth of our child and have been unable to give emotional, physical and even financial support to my family. All the while it has never been lost on me that this is only a small fraction of the injustice thrust upon Palestinians every single day.
The blessing in this is that the Samouni Project and other very promising work has transpired, due directly to me ending up in Gaza longer than planned. I am always keen to turn negatives into positives, and that is exactly what I have done.
In this extra time in Gaza, being separated from my wife and family I have become that much more aware of how ultimately blessed I am as a man. What my wife endures, all too often without any tangible support from me, is a man who is gone much of the time, who works every single day when he is absent or around, a man who earns almost no money and who by the nature of his work brings danger not just to himself, but possibly to her and our family. When you add all this up, I have a gem of a woman, the best kind of woman (in my mind anyway), a Palestinian woman, a shining example of womanhood.
It is said that behind every great man you will find a great woman. I do not look at myself as a great man per se, but I do see the greatness of the women in my life, and if I do indeed succeed in my ultimate goals, you can thank these women every bit as much as me. They have played the essential role in my character development, they are Goddesses, the fabric of a healthy society and responsible for the most important job that exists, that of being a mother.
My mother, my first great blessing in life.
My mother, my grandmother, and my wife are such women; all of them have shown me a love that is boundless and unconditional. Because of them, more than any other factors in my life, I hold great love for my fellow human beings and all life in general. When you combine true love with the understanding of a women’s intimate relationship and experience with injustice, you will be empowered. The strength that myself and countless others exhibit in the face of the sadistic tyrants and their minions in this world, is derived in great part by the beauty and essence of the women in our lives. I feel sorry for the lowly men trapped in the simplistic attraction of the sexual essence of a woman, there is so much more, so, so much more, and to know women as I do is to know the whole beauty of them.
I had no plans to write about women when I arrived in Cairo, but something happened and a link in my mind was made between the Egyptian Revolution and the cause of women in general. And I am always keen to link causes, always. I have met many people since arriving in Cairo and what has been communicated to me is that the revolution continues as a non-stop endeavor. I have been told the demands of the revolution are beginning to center around financial justice, workers rights and an egalitarian tax system that would result in a redistribution of wealth. The achievement of these demands would inevitably lift countless millions of Egyptians out of the deep poverty that Western cultural imperialism and Egyptian corruption have relegated them to.
As fate would have it I watched a movie in Cairo that developed a link worthy of sharing. I seriously recommend this movie to everyone, but especially to women. And though it may seem the message of the movie centers around equal pay for women, I have to disagree. I believe the central theme is justice, and as Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
The movie is called ‘Made in Dagenham’, watch it, breathe it in and realize that the struggle for equal pay in Britain, the struggle for redistribution of wealth in Egypt, and every struggle you can think of has just one thing obstructing justice, and that would be unity. In the movie men and women of the workers unions united, despite the best efforts of the sell-outs, and in the end men and women united and gained. That is the secret waiting to be figured out by us, we all have the same cause, when we unite, we can achieve anything.
I supported the Egyptian Revolution from the moment I heard of it, which was before it officially began, and that explains the reason I have been blocked by the security services up till now. But I want Egypt to know, and the workers of England to know, as well as the Palestinians, the American’s, the students, the oppressed everywhere, to know, that you all have the same struggle, against the same centralized enemy. Think critically, open your heart, shed the fear, and you will know this to be true.
If you see the world the way I do, and I know I am not alone in this, you will see the methods of divide and rule are everywhere. The powers that be know all too well that we, the masses, the working class, the immigrants, the women, the blacks, the Hawaiians (kanaka maoli), the Palestinians and the occupied, oppressed and violated from all around the world are all fighting the same system. God help the tyrants should we ever figure this out, because the moment we do, we will begin to experience the sweet taste of justice and the liberation of a dignified life.
And so I go back to the women, the massive numbers of women who have been raped and beaten and exploited and violated, and yet they do what women do, they are moms. They look after us, love us, nurture us and support us, they shelter us from a cruel world. God help the child whose mother does not fulfill this role, I reckon you can explain to one degree or another the level of insanity in our collectively insane world, by the success or failure of the mothers in every child’s life.
Zeinat Samouni, a great, great mother.
I was blessed in this regard, my children are equally blessed, and now I finally see my failure as a man, my failure to be the father and husband, something that every woman and child deserves. As I return home to my family, after 8 months of absence, during almost the entire pregnancy of our second child, I vow to give the time and support my family deserves. I will finally find the balance of time for my family and time for the cause. I will not sacrifice my family for the cause any longer, I cannot, simply because I cannot respect myself as a man, when I chose my woman, impregnated her , while not honouring the commitment and responsibility that this inherently involves.
You will see less of me on Facebook and Twitter, but you will get more from me in the end. Leadership by example is a principle I believe in to the hilt, and to be a good father and husband is essential for me if I am to be considered a leader.
For those of pure heart and genuine support, know this, as I achieve greater success in my stated goals, I am all too predictably to be increasingly attacked by the idiots and agents. It seems the central charge, although there are so many, is that I do what I do for money and fame. Make no mistake; the timing of these attacks is not accidental. This latest round of attacks began just days after the birth of our second son, while I was involuntarily thousands of miles away from my wife. This attack included an extra charge that I was committing adultery, again within days of my wife giving birth… alone. Whether Zionists initiated this attack or not, they would be the first to cheer it on.
What can one say who is the target of such libel? Not many are willing to subject themselves to this type of poison, but putting yourself out there on the chopping block is inevitable should you walk the path that I do. Again it comes down to the love given to me by the women in my life. Does a mother abandon her child because her own life or character is at risk? Of course not, and so it is I will not abandon my brothers and sisters in Palestine, Hawaii, Iraq, Afghanistan, and indeed America and every corner of the Earth were people endure injustice. We are all family, flawed as we may be, and I am a brother, and I will act as such.
Through the women in my life I have been given love that has afforded me the self-respect so many others can only yearn to know. Rest assured, I will not abandon my mission for a better world, no matter how vicious the attacks on me. I prefer to die, as a mother does to protect her vulnerable child, then live and turn my back on my brothers and sisters who constitute my human family. And the women in my life are every bit as strong as myself, and they too will not be swayed by attacks on me or even themselves.
As for the slander directed at me, slander flying in the face of the facts, those of you who subscribe to this garbage make yourselves out to be dupes and fools. You are indeed a significant part of the problem. Do not get me wrong, nobody should be followed blindly, myself included. Never should a person abandon critical thinking. But to ignore the obvious commitment a person like myself has shown, by words spoken and deeds carried out, to buy into the slander leveled at me simply because supposed “allies” say it is so, is a disgrace. In doing this you feed tyranny and division, you attack a brother who has put his life on the line numerous times. It really is a disgrace, especially since most if not all of you have never risked what I or my family have.
The dupes fail to see that anyone who stands as I do against injustice, especially if they are getting results and inspiring others to act, will be attacked. They fail to understand the method of divide and rule through slander and liable. Wake up, smell the coffee, stop being dupes and join the struggle or identify yourselves as the agents of the enemy you are, unwittingly or not.
As the character Forest Gump says in the movie of the same title, “Stupid is as stupid does.”
As yet another means of educating the idiots I shall take an extraordinary step. My wife and family and all of my closest friends already know this truth, but some of you are suckered into doubting it. My path has meant an enormous amount of unpaid work; spiritually rewarding I must say, but the vast majority of it unpaid. And yes many people have helped my along the way, so that I could do what I do. The result however, in travelling this dubious, perilous path, for my wife and kids, is a sacrifice in which they are deprived of the resources required for financial security. I could make money a priority, but I have not. Nonetheless, I am not willing to subject them to this insecurity any longer; accused or not of doing what I do for money, I will secure a modest paycheck earned out of an honourable and altruistic job. My benefits will derive from the benefits of others. If you see me sporting flashy cars and living in a mansion, then you will have every right to sling mud my way, but bank on this, that will never happen. Riches for me are measured in terms of what you give, not what you take. And in this sense, I am one of the richest men on the planet, I will continue to give everything I have, except my self-respect.
And as I venture to earn this pay, to honour my duty as a father and a husband, I will submit my bank statements for the world to see. Thus you will all be able to see that while I have risked life and limb, as do so many others, I have done so with little to no reward in financial terms; and yet some very stupid or very evil people, have been spreading the lie, that I do what I do for money. I do not say this to defend myself, really I don’t, I say this to help others understand, because enough of us must understand in order to create a better world.
But I am telling all the idiots right now; I will not take on the full time job of responding to every spurious claim made about me. After I show my bank statements, the next charge will be that I have taken cash payments which were never deposited. How will I prove this false? The answer is there is no way to disprove this, and that is why such charges will inevitably come. The idiots will buy it, I do accept this, but the thinking people, those not clouded by jealousy, insecurity, cynicism and outright stupidity, you are the ones I am talking to now. You are the ones that matter, idiots do as idiots do, it is irrelevant as long as thinking, conscientious people do what they can do. And that really is the question, will enough of us do what we are capable of doing?
I have made it a goal of mine to help the stupid people who bite hook, line and sinker into the slander written and said about me, and I will help you. I will help you see the character assassination trash for what it is, and how it makes the Zionists and the tyrants smile. But I will not dedicate limitless time to this endeavor. I will do it because I know many of the idiots, like myself when I was a US Marine, are not bad people. You are just stupid, and easily manipulated, a crime worth forgiving. Like myself 20 years ago you deserve some love and effort, how could I not extend to you what was given to me when I was once you?
But the rest of you, the insidiously false “allies”, you I am happy to expose. You are often the neo-liberal wanker “activists”, you make us Western people of good heart look like the enemy. You are even worse then the direct enemies, at least they are much more honest about where they stand. You on the other hand are the people who destroy the capacity of good people in the West to express genuine brotherhood and sisterhood with our non-Western family. The damage you do is incalculable, and exposing you is a task of significant importance.
And so I return to the women, the women in my life are the core of my strength. Ultimate love and respect to all the sane and beautiful women out there. In me you have a brother or a son, look at me as you would your blood brother or your beloved son, and I in turn I shall give what you deserve of me. You, the true woman, you are our greatest hope; you are at the center of a just and peaceful future, I am born of you, and I will die of you.
TJP
Samouni Inter-Trade Palestine, Trade Not Aid
Today my team heard from mothers, fathers and children of the Samouni family their story of the Hell on Earth created by Operation Cast Lead. Twenty-nine people were killed in this family: children shot in front of parents, parents shot in front of children, 97 people in one home blasted to bits by rockets and mortars. They were made to live amongst the mutilated and dead for several days; while ambulances were kept away some died slowly over hours and even days.
Ken O’Keefe (Gaza, March 2011)
Our Mission
Samouni Inter-Trade Palestine (SIP) is a social enterprise international trade mission. We endeavour to catalyse the end of Gaza’s charitable dependency through import and export trade. We do not seek simply to alleviate the suffering of the people in Gaza. Our ultimate objective is to eliminate preventable, blockade-derived suffering. We recognise the loss of dignity that is inherent in compelling a people to live on aid. We are focused on the root of the problem and thus we are committed to replacing aid with trade.
Samouni Inter-Trade Palestine logo
Our motives are humanitarian and non-profit. Our objective is to regularly transport people and cargo through Rafah Crossing without obstruction, which is an essential prerequisite for viable trade. In the long-term, our goal is for Gaza to be rebuilt with its infrastructure functioning to capacity, for an egalitarian economy to develop and a transformation from despair to prosperity to take place.
First Board Meeting for the Samouni Project
Our Method
We will take an international trade convoy from London on July 2, 2011, intending to arrive in Gaza on July 22. Among our drivers will be members of the Samouni family. Our cargo will include raw materials such as textiles and building materials, industrial machinery and equipment geared towards economic development and the rebuilding of Gaza. Upon offloading our cargo we will immediately begin to reload our trucks with ‘Made in Palestine’ products. Our task then will be to export these products to markets abroad.
Aloha Palestine CIC & the Samouni Project
This convoy is comprised of two primary partners, Aloha Palestine CIC and the Samouni Project. Both are EU registered, non-profit companies, with Aloha Palestine being a community interest trading company.
The Samouni Project mission is to provide long-term quality education along with community services to over 200 members of the Samouni family, as well as residents of the surrounding community of Zeitoun in Gaza. To date the Samouni Project has planted an olive tree orchard, built a playground, procured our classroom/community centre, and recruited teaching staff who are currently developing the curriculum. In addition, we have painted the classroom and collected textbooks, computers, arts and crafts, school supplies, a microscope, telescope, globe, screen projector, and musical instruments in order to create a welcoming and well-supplied classroom. Our next essential task is to transport all these materials from London and to secure running costs for teaching staff and administration of approximately £2400 a month.
Samouni family members authorising Samouni Project Mission
The aims of the Samouni Project complement and empower the mission of Aloha Palestine, whose function is to transport the cargo in order to complete the classroom and begin classes. Any attempt to block Aloha Palestine will be publicised as highly injurious to the Samouni family, and tantamount to denying this family and its children the education they deserve.
Trade Not Aid
Many people do not appreciate the damage caused to a society when citizens are compelled to live long-term on hand-outs as opposed to being able to provide for themselves. Normally aid is provided to people in the aftermath of a natural disaster. But in the case of Gaza it is political corruption and the failure to defeat this corruption that has resulted in the people of Gaza enduring more than four years as a charitable dependency. The result of this is devastating. In simple terms the parents are not only unable to protect their children from Israeli aggression, but are also incapable of providing even the bare essentials without aid. Children become both witnesses to and victims of this reality. Many begin to lose respect for their parents, which in turn causes parents to suffer from diminishing self-respect and depression. If no other options exist and aid becomes institutionalised, as it has become in Gaza, people begin to see it as their only means to live. Dignity is stolen from the recipients, and an insidiously destructive weapon becomes self-feeding, destroying a society from within.
At the root of this all is the blockade and the inability to conduct trade. At a certain point, it becomes arguably criminal to relegate people to living on hand-outs. SIP’s position is that Palestinians are more than capable of standing on their own two feet, but our collective failure to direct our energy at the root of the problem has relegated them to the status of beggars. Doctors and engineers are picking up trash in Gaza today because it is the only job they can find. And they are the lucky ones who at least have a job. SIP intends to confront the problem head-on, to strike at the heart of the problem and eliminate this injustice by proactive, as opposed to reactive, means.
Wael Samouni holding the first Samouni export of Chilies
Social Enterprise
Samouni Inter-Trade Palestine is a social enterprise collaboration. The nature of a social enterprise is to confront social problems and effect solutions through intelligent business models. Contrary to the standard business model, financial profits are not “the bottom line”. The key here is self-sufficiency and social impact. Social Enterprises do not rely upon donations for survival; this makes them much less susceptible to coercion from large donors.
Most of all, success for a social enterprise is measured by it’s impact on society.
SIP’s success will translate to the creation of jobs in Egypt, Europe and Palestine and intrinsically, stimulating the economies of each nation. Among the Palestinian jobs created in Gaza, 10 positions for teachers, counsellors and administrators for the Samouni Project’s education program, 2 positions for truck drivers, both to be filled by men of the Samouni family. Within our business model we work with the Palestinians as partners, as equals, not benefactors.
As the Managing Director of the Samouni Project I answer to the members of the company, who happen to be the Samouni family, if I do not carry out their will, they have the power to remove me.
The "Mukhtar" gives direction for the Samouni Project
We are not a charity; we are a partnership of Palestinians and internationals working together for common and mutually agreeable goals. Together we have the wisdom of Palestinian culture, the understanding of the Western market and mind-set. We are young and old, we are Internet and social media savvy, and we have significant backing from around the globe.
Make no mistake, the people of Palestine have determined SIP’s priorities and they are the primary stakeholders in our mission. As a social enterprise our success will not be measured by profits. It will be measured by the ability of the people of Gaza to work in dignified jobs, create and run their own businesses, rebuild their homes and factories, conduct international trade profitably, and develop their economy in order to shed their charitable dependency status. That is our ultimate mission.
Ken O'Keefe takes direction for the Samouni Project
Self-Determination
All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
We are committed to manifesting the transformation of the world’s largest open-air prison into a thriving Mediterranean metropolis. We will not celebrate the ‘breaking of the siege’ upon arrival in Gaza; instead we will offload our cargo, reload our trucks with cargo ‘Made in Palestine’, and then set off to export these products to markets abroad. Then we will repeat the cycle.
Ultimately this is a matter of the people of Gaza being able to exercise self-determination, which inherently includes the ability to conduct viable international trade and commerce.
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership
The declaration is intended to establish a comprehensive Euro-Mediterranean partnership in order to turn the Mediterranean into a common area of peace, stability and prosperity through the reinforcement of political dialogue and security, an economic and financial partnership and a social, cultural and human partnership.
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership/Barcelona Declaration
Reading the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) agreements reveals continuous proclamations compelling respect for “human rights”, “democracy”, “free-trade” and “shared prosperity”.
The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership claims to focus on three key objectives:
· fostering “peace and stability”
· “promote understanding between cultures and exchanges between civil societies”
· and the “creation of an area of shared prosperity” in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
Under the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Israel has done extremely well, prospering to the tune of roughly 25bn Euros a year in trade with the EU. Palestinians, on the other hand, conduct a miniscule amount of trade by comparison. Even worse, the people of Gaza are almost completely barred from international trade and have been made to endure a brutal and illegal blockade for over four years.
Adding insult to injury, the Palestinians of Gaza are compelled by lack of choice to increase the profitability of their Israeli oppressors by buying the products Israel exports to Palestine.
Samouni Children
EU Obligations with Regard to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership
There are 27 Member States of the European Union who have entered into treaties that mandate a ‘Free Trade Zone’ in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The multi-lateral and bi-lateral treaties are contracts with ‘partner countries’ in the region. These countries include Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt, all of which we will travel through en route to Gaza. Importantly, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership includes a treaty between the EU and the Palestinian Authority, identifying the ‘Palestinian Territories’ as a partner country, under this treaty, import/export bans are prohibited and free trade is sacrosanct, at least when it comes to Israel.
Legal precedents have been established to protect against import/export bans. Over the course of two years Aloha Palestine has been committed to due diligence by investing nearly one third of its entire budget on legal advice, with emphasis in public international law, human rights law, and international trade law. We have retained some of the top legal minds in preparation for the trade mission we are set to conduct this June.
Cultural Imperialism
Cultural imperialism is domination through policies that exploit the economic and/or technological superiority of one over the other, in this case the West over the Arab world. The EU and Israel are partners in cultural imperialism and the EMP has been one of their primary tools, especially with regard to Palestine. No significant challenge to this injustice has been conducted by trading with Palestine as Israel does with the EU, but that is exactly what SIP intends to do. We shall challenge the cultural imperialism of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership while citing the agreement itself. And we shall expose the hypocrisy of the EU should it not protect the interests of an EU-based trading company.
SIP intends to have top attorneys on retainer, prepared to take legal action should SIP be blocked or unjustly delayed.
Historic Role of the European Union
As an occupying power controlling Gaza’s air, land and sea space, Israel has been in grave breach of its obligations under international law. In addition, Israel has continuously violated the stated principles of the Euro–Mediterranean Partnership. Despite this, the EU has supported Israel without pause, firmly establishing its complicity in the crimes committed against the people of Gaza. Making this particularly reprehensible is the presence of over 800,000 children in Gaza. The reality is that innocent children in the eyes of the EU do not warrant even a fraction of the favour that the EU affords Israel.
The justification for the EU’s complicity in Israeli crimes is the democratic election in which Hamas came to power, since Hamas is listed as a terrorist organisation. A worthwhile comparison to Hamas however would be the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the African National Congress (ANC), both of which were deemed to be terrorist entities, both eventually having the opportunity to utilise politics as an alternative to violent resistance. Hamas, however, has repeatedly been denied this opportunity, despite making repeated offers for a long-term truce and a negotiated settlement.
It bears repeating, the EU has collaborated in collectively punishing the people of Gaza while rewarding the state that is guilty of the crime.
As an EU-based company, Aloha Palestine will demand the right to trade with Palestine just as other EU companies trade with Israel. If the EU fails to do this, we will employ every means possible to expose the EU not just for complicity, but active participation in the collective punishment of the people of Gaza.
Egyptian Blockade of Gaza
It must be said that the Israeli-led blockade of Gaza is in itself useless unless Egypt conducts its own blockade of Gaza. Under Mubarak Egypt did precisely that, justifying the blockade by citing agreements brokered for Israeli/US interests and at a terrible cost to Palestinians. However with the rising of the people of Egypt and the subsequent fall of Hosni Mubarak, the people of Egypt, especially the youth movements, hold the key to Gaza’s future.
First Bag of Cement through Rafah Crossing Since Blockade
Egypt’s new Foreign Minister Nabil al Arabi has stated that the time to end the Egyptian blockade of Gaza is now, and he further clarified that the blockade “is contrary to the rules of international humanitarian law which prohibits the siege of civilians, even in times of war.”
In this context we shall cooperate with the post-Mubarak government so as to ensure the economic and human rights of the people of Palestine are finally respected. On April 28 2011 Egypt formally announced the end of the Egyptian blockade. The stage is set for SIP to conduct a historic mission that should spell the end of a shameful chapter in Egypt’s history.
The timing of our mission could hardly be better.
Regional Security
…it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law…
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
SIP’s position is that respect for human rights, ending of the blockade, normalising trade and the establishment of legitimate security procedures at the Rafah Border Crossing is in the best interest of security for every nation in the region. We argue that by reviving the crippled economy of Gaza/Palestine and boosting the ailing economy of Egypt, stability through prosperity will develop. Stability is a prerequisite for security and we must not ignore the fact that corrupt economic and political systems, inequitable distribution of wealth and the deep poverty that results, are at the heart of the civil unrest reshaping the Middle East at this critical point in human history. Therefore, the development of the Egyptian and Palestinian economies is essential for a just and peaceful Middle East.
Safe Trade
Aloha Palestine is committed to enhancing regional security by conducting Safe Trade:
The commercial exchange of non-hazardous items; trade that stimulates economic growth while posing no danger to society. Trade involving transparency, fairness and social responsibility that fosters prosperity while enhancing security in the regions of the world in which it is conducted.
Unlike the free trade that is conducted between Israel, the EU and the United States, there will be no trading of weapons, especially weapons of mass destruction.
SafeTrade - No Guns - No WMD
Conclusion
… recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world…
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Samouni Inter-Trade Palestine is indeed a trade mission, but our motives are grounded in humanitarian principles. While the past is characterised by a system of tyranny, concentrated wealth, power in the hands of the most corrupt and violent, and ceaseless suffering and injustice, the future holds great promise for a better world.
Like the mythical phoenix, a symbol of rebirth, immortality, and renewal, we see Gaza/Palestine at the end of its period of fire. From the ashes Gaza will be rebuilt, and the people will rise to claim their inherent right of self-determination. And it will start with connecting Gaza to the world once more with viable international trade.
Road to Hope Convoy Reuniting in Egypt, could enter Gaza today
PRESS RELEASE
Road to Hope Convoy Reuniting in Egypt, could enter Gaza today
Report posted November 25, 2010
This has been an incredibly 5000 mile journey from London. The convoy has been split by forces beyond their control including Egypt’s demand that the convoy take a ship from Libya to Egypt through El Arish Port. This requires significant extra expense and most convoy members being left to fly as cargo ships are not able to take large numbers of people. The obtained significant notoriety when 10 members were kidnapped from Libya to Greece aboard the Greek owned Strofades IV. The owner and captain of that ship were subsequently charged with kidnapping. Some have speculated that outside forces may have played a role in that disruption to the convoy. “This has been an incredibly long road to Gaza and it highlights the incredible obstacles and potential dangers of helping the people of Palestine.” – Ken O’Keefe.
Three of the ten kidnapped convoy members (Ken O’Keefe, Khalid Omar Ali & Younus Malik) have managed to make it to Egypt in order to reunite with the rest of the convoy. They are awaiting the arrival of the 30 or so convoy members who are flying from Libya to Egypt today. Egypt also blacklisted 13 convoy members with no stated reason, most however were members of previous convoys or survivors of the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara in May 2010. The only remaining survivor of the Mavi Marmara thus far permitted by Egypt to enter Gaza is Ken O’Keefe who was involved in disarming two Israeli commandos.
The ship that brought three other convoy members, 30 convoy vehicles and £500,000 worth of humanitarian aid has offloaded at El Arish port today, after being blocked by Egypt for the last four days. If all goes smoothly the convoy will be entering Gaza through Rafah Crossing today. Although the convoy began with 101 members, it has dwindled to the necessary amount of drivers, 34.
Video Updates
Contact for Ken O’Keefe in Egypt – +20 150 290 6473 (alternate +20 188 206 778)
Contact for Dr. Saeb Shaath Egypt +20 129 594 582
Contact for Ken O’Keefe in Gaza +44 79444 01757 (alternate +970 599 536 642)
Convoy photos at Ken O’Keefe’s Facebook profile – http://www.facebook.com/1worldcitizen?v=app_2392950137#!/1worldcitizen?v=photos
Road to Hope Convoy Members Kidnapped
A new press release is being written regarding our being released from Greek custody but I submit this now as we were unable to while we unable to release two days ago.
PRESS RELEASE
12 November 2010
Road to Hope (R2H) convoy members kidnapped from Libya to Greece
Greek Commandos board Strofades IV in Greek Waters
The Road to Hope humanitarian aid convoy left London on the 10th of October with £500,000 of medical aid for the besieged people of the Gaza Strip. After travelling 4,500 miles through the UK, France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya the convoy stalled at the Egyptian border on October 26th due to an Egyptian refusal to allow land access to Gaza. As a result the convoy leaders had little choice but to secure a ship at significant extra expense and delay.
Convoy members kidnapped on the Strofades IV
On Wednesday November 10th $82,500 was transferred to the Egyptian Shipping Agent representing Maltese registered “Strofades IV” for charter from Derna (Libya) to Al Arish (Egypt). Convoy Leader Kieran Turner, speaking from the ship off the coast of Libya commented that “Ten members of the convoy along with seven Libyan police officers (including the port captain of Derna, Libya) have been kidnapped.” At the time of writing, convoy members have been held on the Greek-owned ship – at sea with its cargo ramp open (endangering all aboard) – for 40 hours. When mobile phone signals were available while the ship was passing Crete, Turner commented that “We believe we are now being taken towards Greece, away from Gaza, the destination we have been pursuing for four weeks – including over two weeks stranded at the Egyptian border. With Egypt insisting that aid convoys must travel by sea rather than land, we were compelled to embark on what has been shown to be a dangerous, difficult, and unnecessarily expensive path to Gaza.”
Convoy members on lifted ramp of the Strofades IV in Libya
Ken O’Keefe, a convoy leader and survivor of the Mavi Marmara massacre, who on that occasion disarmed two Israeli commandos, said “We have spent the past two weeks in Libya trying to get our aid through Egypt by land to Gaza. Instead we were compelled to enter complex negotiations with shipping agents who appear to have had some kind of falling-out with the ship owner – with no apparent concern for the suffering being experienced in Gaza. This begs the question why land access is not possible into Egypt for Gaza?”
Captain of the Strofades IV
After 36 hours at sea approximately 20 Greek commandos boarded the ship in Greek waters by Zodiak. The owner of the Strofades IV (who directed the captain to depart Derna Port unlawfully) communicated to the Greek officials that the kidnapped convoy members were “terrorists”. Ken O’Keefe commented that “Despite this, the Greek commandos were professional, moral and humane. This runs in stark contrast to the brutal and murderous treatment we received from the Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara.”
Ken O'Keefe making distress calls by VHF radio
“As of this writing (aboard the Strofades IV) we are safe and comfortable, with one sick convoy member being tended to, and water and toilets being provided on request. We hope to be processed promptly.” Convoy team leader Tauqir Sharif says “Our main priority now is to be reunited with the convoy in Libya and take our aid to Gaza as soon as possible, whether by sea or land.”
Greek commados boarding ship off the Greek coast
Contacts:
London – Eleanor Merton +44 777 037 6701
This is for media inquiries and important business only, please share with relevant people.
Ken O’Keefe Greece +30 698 2143361
Libya / Egypt – Kieran Turner & Ken O’Keefe +44 7944 401 757 or +44 7852 927 999
Now compare the truth with the first class propaganda reported by MSN;
Activists tried to hijack ship to Gaza: owners
A Greek ferry arrived back in port Friday as the owners alleged activists had tried to hijack it in Libya to take aid to Gaza, police said.
Ionian Bridge Shipping Management also denied that British aid workers had been held captive by the crew of the Strofades IV, which was transporting mainly vehicles.
Police in the Greek port of Piraeus said the Maltese-flagged vessel had docked at 11:15 am (0915 GMT) with a crew of 16 to 17 passengers, who were all “safe and sound.”
The police said they were investigating what had happened, while an Ionian Bridge official, Maria Georgoulia, said a dozen activists had tried to storm the ship in the Libyan port of Derna on Thursday.
“They wanted to go to Egypt and then to Gaza,” she said. “There is no contract between us and the activists, what they did was illegal.”
She said that some 100 militants had gathered on the port at Derna on Wednesday wanting to board the Strofades IV.
“We called on the Libyan authorities to help us but finally seven Libyan police stayed on board the ship throughout the voyage without doing anything,” Georgoulia added.
She said the crew had given food to the militants, “who put on a whole show on the deck, wearing lifebuoys and pretending to be in danger.”
Georgoulia denied that the militants had been detained by the crew of the Strofades IV.
Ellie Merton, London liaison for the British group Road to Hope, said Thursday she thought the activists were being held by the ship’s Greek captain after a dispute over money.
The British Foreign Office said, “We are aware of the incident at Derna Port in Libya and we have been in close contact with the organisers.”
One of the Britons on board the Strofades IV was Tauqir Sharif, who was on the Mavi Marmara which was raided by Israeli commandos while en route to Gaza in May, resulting in the deaths of nine activists.
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