Does my baby not have the right to be protected? Does he not have the right to life?

Cross posted at Monkey in the Middle

Imagine yourself a young mother with a one-year old child. Imagine that you have only 15 seconds from when the warning is sounded to get to safety or you and/or your child will be injured or killed. This is the reality for those mothers who live in Sderot. Mothers like
Dena Cohen.

With her baby in her hands, Sderot mother Dena Cohen has only 15 seconds to dash to safety when she hears the warning siren of an impending rocket attack ring out across her hometown of Sderot.

On Thursday, she was the first resident of that city to address the United Nation's Human Rights Council and to give them an intimate portrait of what it was like to live under the constant rocket threat from the Palestinians in neighboring Gaza.

She spoke on the same day that Archbishop Desmond Tutu addressed the council and condemned Israel's 2006 shelling of the Palestinian
village of Beit Hanoun, in which 19 civilians were killed.

"All human life is equal and all innocent suffering is tragic," said Cohen. But, she told the Council, it should also understand what it is live on the Israeli side of the border, knowing that a rocket could fall at any time.

Cohen, 22, who has a one-year-old son, said, "Every night, before falling asleep, I face the same dilemma. What will happen if a rocket falls on my son's room?"

"We have fifteen seconds between the alarm and the explosion. Fifteen seconds to run to the closest shelter. In which direction to go? How to react?" she asked.

During the winter, she said, a rocket fell near their home, shattering the windows.

Eight-year-old Osher Twito, who lost one of his legs in a Kassam attack.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski

A shard from that rocket injured their eight-year old neighbor, Osher Twito, who lost his leg as a result. His eighteen-year-old brother was also seriously wounded, Cohen told the Council.

"I will never forget their cries. Every time the alarm sounds, I know that this situation can happen again, or even end more tragically," Cohen said.

Sderot, she said, is a city in shock. At any moment an alarm can sound that would send its 20,000 residents racing for cover.

Since Israel withdrew from Gaza, the Palestinians there have launched thousands of rockets in the direction of the south, she said.

"I would like to ask: Does my baby not have the right to be protected? Does he not have the right to life?" said Cohen.

The Council is dominated by Muslim nations and has been widely cited for frequently and heavily criticizing Israel while virtually ignoring rights problems elsewhere in the world.

Tutu tried to strike a balanced tone Thursday when he said that the council should look at suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians.

But he also said in compiling a report on Israeli-Palestinian violence for the council that he had been struck by the lack of international concern for Palestinians.

"The international community is failing to fulfill its role in respect of the suffering of the people of Gaza," he said.

Full Story

Desmond Tutu should go back to South Africa and look to the injustice and discrimination in his own land. His place is there. It is well known to the world that Desmond Tutu, like so many Africans is an anti-Semite and would love to see every Jew in the world killed. Heck he would love to be doing the killing.

Dena Cohen doesn't have the world's media on her side. They side with those who are trying to kill her and her son. Those who wish, like Desmond Tutu and Barack Hussein Obama, to finish the job that Hitler started. No one cares about Dena Cohen in this world.

In other news from Sderot:

Rocket fire from Gaza breaks ceasefire again
By Spencer Ho

A Qassam missile fired by terrorists in Gaza struck just outside of a residential neighborhood in the west end of Sderot, causing a small brush fire at a construction site.

No injuries were reported.

This was the first incident of Qassam fire in the western Negev since terrorists fired two Qassams Aug. 25, after which Defense Minister Ehud Barak closed crossings between Gaza and Israel, except for humanitarian purposes, for nearly two days.

View video here

The cease-fire is over it seems. As if the rockets ever stopped. More and more Israelis will be running for cover. Code Red will sound and they will have only 15 seconds to get to safety. How many more Osher Twitos will there be? How many more mothers will grieve over their sons and daughters? How long do the people of Sderot and the Western Negev have to live through this horror.

I ask you to dig deep into your pockets and to click the logo below. Give a little or a lot. The money you give goes directly to the people of the area. And feel free to cross post this at will.

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POW/MIA Recognition Day

Did you know? Today is POW/MIA Recognition Day, and the only reason I know this is because I found this on Yankeemom's site:

Observances of National POW/MIA Recognition Day are held across the country on military installations, ships at sea, state capitols, schools and veterans’ facilities. This observance is one of six days throughout the year that Congress has mandated the flying of the National League of Families’ POW/MIA flag. The others are Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day. The flag is to be flown at major military installations, national cemeteries, all post offices, VA medical facilities, the World War II Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the official offices of the secretaries of state, defense and veterans affairs, the director of the selective service system and the White House.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Library of Congress - the PoW/MIA searchable data base. You can use this data base to browse descriptions of documents held by the LOC. Microfilm reels by be sent to your local library though the Inter Library Loan Program.

POW Network - Largest collection of biographies on Vietnam POW/MIAs. These bios contain the most accurate information available on circumstances of loss. This site also houses the “Operation Smoking Gun” collection. Debuting on the World Wide Web on June 20, 1996, this collection contains over 1,400 documents for your viewing. This site is a valuable research resource.

For more links, go here.

Yankeemom has more on this (including the POW/MIA Place Setting Remembrance Service.)

I urge you to go check it out here.

Take the time to stand back from the disgusting displays in this current election "campaign", and remember those who serve, and sacrifice for us.

May we NEVER forget. Thank you for the reminder, Yankeemom

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B*N*S*N1

Louisiana Army National Guardsmen from the 2225th Multi-Role Bridge Company in Marrero, La., bring residents of Hackberry, La., to dry land after the small town in the southwest portion of the state received massive flooding caused by Hurricane Ike. Soldiers from the company have been assigned to the area to offer assistance to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in search and rescue missions. Photo by Sgt. Angela K. Fry.

Guard hauls nearly 2,500 to safe havens

Sep 15, 2008

BY National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Hauling people to safe, dry places became one of the main missions for National Guard troops after Hurricane Ike rampaged through Texas and Louisiana on Friday night and Saturday.

Guardmembers had rescued nearly 2,000 people in Texas, the hardest hit state, by Monday, and had rescued or evacuated another 343 in Louisiana, the states reported.

"We're proud of the work our troops are doing out there," said Lt. Col. James Waskom, deputy commander of Louisiana's 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. "But we've got to keep our heads in the game because there is lots of work still out there to do."

Texas Guard members utilized ground, water and air assets to help people stranded by the hurricane that, ironically, bears the famous nickname of one of the state's most famous sons. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president, was born in Denison, Texas, near the Oklahoma border, in 1890....

I have NO idea why that looks that way. However...lol.You can read the rest here.

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B*N*S*N2

President Bush speaks to the press following his visit with Walter Reed patients Sept. 9. Listening from left are Col. John Bradley chief of psychiatry and acting deputy commander for clinical services for the Walter Reed Health Care System; Command Sgt. Maj. Rudy DelValle; Col. Norvell Van Coots; and Maj. Gen. Carla G. Hawley-Bowland, commander of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Photo by Bernard Little

President visits wounded warriors at Walter Reed

Sep 12, 2008
BY Bernard S. Little

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Sept. 12, 2008) -- President George W. Bush visited patients, Family members and staff at Walter Reed Army Medical Center Tuesday.

Since the start of the Global War on Terrorism in 2001 and the Army's premier medical center receiving wounded warriors, President Bush and first lady Laura Bush have made regular visits to Walter Reed.

"I come to Walter Reed to do a couple of things: first, to pay my respects to those who have been wounded," the president said during remarks to the press following his visit with patients, their Families and staff.


"I've come to pay my respects to the healers and doctors and nurses, and thank them for their service. I can truthfully say that the health care our troops receive here is first-class," he added.

He also thanked Maj. Gen. Carla G. Hawley-Bowland, commander of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and WRAMC, for her "hospitality and leadership."

"You energize our staff, as well as the patients and their Families, to get even better," she said. "So thank you very much."

"I've also come to pay my respects to Family members that are praying that their loved one can get back on their feet and serve again, or get back on their feet and live a normal life," the president said.

"It's an interesting experience because, on the one hand, you see the horrors of war; on the other hand, you see the courage of the people that have volunteered to serve. I marvel when I come to Walter Reed. I marvel at the fact that people say to me, 'Mr. President, I'd do it again. And you see somebody in bed who's been severely wounded, and they look and they say, I'm honored and proud to have served.'"

The president then spoke of one servicemember he visited who was wounded severely and being cared for at Walter Reed: "He says, 'I'm looking forward to getting back in uniform, getting back on the front lines.'

"America is lucky to have men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform and to serve to protect us. And, general, we're lucky - and they're lucky - to have health care that can provide for the wounded and provide comfort to those who need the care. So I'm honored to be with you."

(Bernard S. Little serves as the command information officer for Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Stripe newspaper.)

(source)

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B*N*S*N3

From 10 Downing Street:

Wednesday 17 September 2008

Rugby stars help wounded troop heroes

The biggest names in Rugby Union came to Downing Street today as part of the £1million charity bid for wounded members of the armed forces.

“Help for Heroes” is promoting a legends of rugby game taking place at Twickenham on Saturday 20 September.

Sporting stars including Lawrence Dallaglio, Scott Gibbs, Martin Johnson, Jonah Lomu, Will Greenwood and other legendary figures will join with the best of the Armed Forces players to battle it out in a spectacular game to raise money for the wounded.

The aim is to sell out the 82,000 seat stadium and raise £1million to improve facilities at the services rehabilitation centre at Headley Court.

Speaking at today’s reception to mark the game, the Prime Minister said that the day would see rugby heroes honour “all of the heroes of our armed forces”.

“To put your life on the line for others every day takes someone very special, and I would like to take a moment to remember those brave men and women who have fallen in the course of their duties.

“We are deeply indebted to them, and we will never forget what they have done on our behalf.”

Help for Heroes (new window)...

(source)

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