Notice how the bicyclist does not weave in and out between parked cars. Many cyclists think they should get as far to the right at all times.  What I believe is the safest way to ride is staying 3ft from parked cars, and towards the right in the travel lane. This benefits both the driver and cyclist, weaving and bobbing only make a bicyclist less visible, and holding a line makes passing a bicyclist easier for the driver.  Be careful not to give up too much of the lane, you want to discourage drivers from sharing a lane with you when it’s too narrow, particularly if it’s a 2 lane roadway.  Don’t get squeezed.  Share the road, take the lane!

Watch as Israel takes from the same playbook as our own War on Terror. This is graphic footage. Observe how Israel has no proper defense for restricting journalists from Gaza, using white phosphorous, bulldozing homes, bombing food supply warehouses, and running their tanks over Palestinian civilians.

The cloud over us grows darker, each day that we allow this to happen.

Gaza doctors put the Palestinian death toll at 1,330 with at least another 5,450 people wounded.

About 65 per cent of the dead were civilians, including 437 children.

Continue reading [via AlJazeera]  See more Gaza massacre coverage.

Gaza: The Killing Zone was filmed in 2003 [click for full screen].  I find the footage of American-made bulldozers knocking over Palestinians’ homes very disturbing.  It makes me think about what U.S.-based companies are profiting off the longstanding financial support which Israel receives from the United States.  The companies are actually choosing to profit from occupation and active colonization rather than refuse complicitcy in the forced displacement and undue suffering of millions of Palestinians.

The list is long.  Here’s a selection of some popular companies you may want to consider divesting from:

• Caterpillar, Volvo, and Daewoo - supplying of bulldozers
• Magnavox - communication supplies
• Motorola - setup radars and communications in occupied, illegal West Bank settlements
• Blockbuster
• Domino’s
• General Electric
• General Motors
• Unilever
• Kodak

No comments

The public relations approach that Israel is taking in their recent pummeling of Palestinians seems play-for-play taken from the Bush Administration’s campaign to bring us to war in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Again, we hear about the invasion as an act of self-defense. That the occupied people are terrorists, and civilian casualties are not the responsibility of those who drop the bombs, but rather those who are its intended target.

I’m especially glad that this piece refers to the United States’ attempt at overthrowing Hamas, a democratically elected political party, 2 years ago.  That sort of behavior doesn’t exactly embody the justification of bringing democracy to Iraq and the rest of the Middle East.

No comments

From Dr. Marc Lamont Hill,

Still, as we celebrate this watershed moment, it is important that we not become too self-satisfied, too pleased with our collective maturity. Indeed, it is one thing for a nation to finally accept that a black man can represent its interests. It is another thing entirely to question the nature of those interests. After all, the working poor will be no happier to know that a black man is undermining their prosperity. Gays and lesbians will see no moral victory in having their civil rights stripped away by fellow minority. Continental Africans will find no solace in the fact that one of their sons is aiding and abetting its exploitation. For America to truly mature, we must not only acknowledge its bright light, we must also come to terms with its dark underside.. Militarism, violence, consumerism, homophobia, patriarchy, anti-intellectualism, and countless other hallmarks of the American empire must die in order for a new, more mature America to be born. Otherwise, we have done nothing more than put a slave in charge of the plantation.

Dr. Hill continues to impress me with his writings, commentary, and popular education style. His Barbershop Notebooks blog is essential reading for today’s active revolutionary.

Continue reading On Inauguration..