Saturday, December 31, 2016

U.S. out of U.N. - U.N. OUT of NY: a Vocal Demonstration!

December 28, 2016 - Noon - It was a small but vociferous gathering, across from the UN. Making their VOICES be HEARD:"U.S .out of UN/UN OUT of NY" and "Stay Strong Israel"
  • The Jewish Voice NY sponsored this rally at the UN to protest the historic anti-Israel resolution


There many signs with pointed messages held high. 


A statement from The Jewish Voice NY :

slide show

 

Disappointed I wasn't able to capture a more complete recording of the protest, there were many speakers. Unfortunately, it was impossible to get a position to film the speakers. The many police officers kept pointing towards the back of the enclosure, which is useless for photographers and video. But, the signs themselves convey the purpose of this rally, speakers and signs, held true ....  U.S. the time is now.... Get OUT of the U.N. !

VIDEO

UN Israel


Time to say "buh bye" to the tyrants who hijacked the UN. Let them move back to Europe (or wherever).

 

The building is falling apart away and the winds of REAL change are finally HERE. 

NO MORE BILLIONS should go in the coffers of tyrants.  ~Man up! Move on!~

++ Excerpts of media coverage follows++

Jewish Voice Sponsors Rally at UN to Protest the Historic Anti-Israel Resolution Written by Jonathan Grauman, December 29, 2016


During his disappointing Middle East foreign policy address on Wednesday, December 28th, Secretary of State John Kerry spewed forth his usual litany of lies and exaggerations while threatening Israel with its very existence if she did not agree to commit suicide by capitulating to the creation of an Arab terrorist state in the Jewish heartland of Judea and Samaria.
As he uttered his didactic rhetoric, a hearty gathering of pro-Israel activists gathered outside the US Mission to the UN, protesting the despicable anti-Israel Security Council resolution passed last week, and strongly condemned Kerry's pathetic and plaintive cries. The resolution should never have passed, except for the direct intervention of the Obama administration who gave explicit instructions to UN Ambassador Samantha Power to abstain, rather than vetoing it as has been the decades long policy of the US when it comes to Israel at the Security Council.
The rally, (coordinated by David Ben Hooren, publisher of the Jewish Voice as well as Fern Sidman, the editor of the paper), saw speaker after speaker lambast the Obama administration for its abysmal perfidy, while encouraging those gathered to “stand strong, and to stand strong with Israel.” As President-elect Trump recently tweeted, "Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!"
Speakers at the rally included renowned Jewish activist and philanthropist Jeff Wiesenfeld, Executive Director of Americans for a Safe Israel, Helen Freedman, longtime Jewish activist and cantorial impresario Charlie Bernhaut, President of JCC Watch Richard Allen, former Congressional candidate Philip Rosenthal, Rabbi Gideon Shloush and prolific author, speaker and Jewish personality, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.

The speakers addressed the following issues:
1)  The US should end its funding of the United Nations, and better yet, relocate that bastion of infamy to another country, say, Syria or Angola.
2)  The US action in the UN harms not just Israel, but the US itself. There is bipartisan understanding in Congress that Obama's action to abstain in the UN was a terrible decision, detrimental to the US.
3)  More and more people (including Democrats!) are realizing how dangerous Obama has been to the United States, and are finally acknowledging the poor state of affairs he is leaving the country in, for the next president.
4)  People are also realizing that the recent and ongoing brouhaha regarding Israel in the UN, and between Israel and the Obama administration, is not just an Israeli or Jewish issue, but one that concerns the country as a whole.
5)  How fitting, that the current furor is occurring during the holiday of Chanukah, when Jews celebrate the victory of a small handful - the Maccabees - against the Greeks, and the victory for religious freedom against assimilation.

Nearly 100 sign-waving, chant-shouting protesters crowded the UN as American and Israeli leaders continued to spar over the U.S. delegation's controversial vote last week on the touchy settlement issue.
"Stop U.S. $ to the United (Arab) Nations," and "Hussein Obama betrays Israel, protesters condemned Obama and spoke of the incoming president with hope and excitement.
I believe that the steps taken by the president here on his final 30 days in office break historical president, barriers, and present all kinds of problems — not only for the security of our most important ally, that being Israel in the Middle East, but also for potential implications on how it affects us, and our relationship to the region," said Kevin McCullough, a syndicated writer and talk show host, who spoke at the rally.
"It is impossible to accept what President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry even were talking about this morning with any degree of seriousness. We have not been a good friend to Israel over the last eight years and it is time that we stop kicking them in the teeth at every opportunity."

Jerusalem Post

Wednesday’s protest took place as Secretary of State John Kerry gave his speech at the Department of State, laying down his vision for peace between Israelis and Palestinians and justifying the administration’s choice to abstain from voting on the anti-settlement resolution passed by the UN's Security Council.

NewsMax

Demonstrators rallied Wednesday to protest the U.S. delegation's controversial refusal last week to block a U.N. Security Council vote condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.


[Pictures and video are property of Pamela Hall]
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Sunday, December 11, 2016

Part 2 Update Jill Stein "Count the Vote" Presser (more video/pics)

UPDATE- Part 2- Dec 5, 2016.  Trump Tower.



Dr. Jill Stein held a press conference rally  explaining WHY the VOTES should be RECOUNTED:
".... vowing to fight tooth and nail to verify the accuracy, security,
and fairness of the vote. call on Trump and his allies to stop putting
party politics above country, and verify the vote through common-
sense procedures demanded by voters. “We won’t stand down as
Donald Trump and his allies seek to frivolously obstruct the legal
processes set up to ensure we have a voting system we can trust and
that all votes have been counted,”
said Stein. "
There were also way too many speakers that preceded her. But, since I was there-
I managed to record all but one of them and their mindless blather. I don't think that was the casefor most of the press that was impatiently waiting for Stein. As this note implies, I think they also grew weary of the passersby asking the same question over and over:



See the Video Play list of  the guest speakers and Stein. I actually found them
interesting- even the attorney ....  who did go on and on and on....



Speaking in the videos:

Melinda Figueroa, Press Dir. Stein Campaign

Jonathan Abady, Lead Counsel Jill Stein Recount Effort and founding partner of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady

David Cobb, Campaign Manager for the Jill Stein campaign recount effort

Mark Crispin Miller, Professor at NYU, and the author of the book: Fooled Again, How the Right Stole the 2004 Elections.
From AP: :"Tensions between Stein and Clinton backers erupted Monday at her news conference outside of Trump Tower.
One Green Party speaker (Mark Crispin Miller) who preceded Stein took repeated swipes at Clinton, accusing
her of stealing the Democratic nomination from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Several Democrats in the crowd tried
to shout him down before they were heckled by other Stein supporters."
Tara Seewact, NYU student

Susan Finn, Independent Pennsylvania voter- 43 yrs old mother of 3- who petitioned for recount

Zerlina Smith -Illinois

James Lane, GPNY State Committee Member, two time Green Party candidate (no video)
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Cheri Honkala, 2012 Green Party nominee for vice president

See Flickr slide show for more on the press conference:




+++
Here's the latest update on what you need to know about the various recounts:
  • Wisconsin: Recount underway
  • Michigan: Recount is "completely over" after court ruling
  • Pennsylvania: Stein filed a lawsuit asking for a statewide recount
  • Nevada: Several counties concluded their recount and didn't show enough change to prompt a full state recount
Recount requests have now been received in all three states that Stein had listed on her fundraising website as goals -- Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Another state -- Nevada -- received a recount petition from Roque 'Rocky' De La Fuente, who ran as part of the American Delta Party. Two of the states in question -- Wisconsin and Pennsylvania -- have already begun required audits of their elections, which is done by checking the results of a random sample of voting machines to make sure the technology actually works. Michigan has 16 Electoral College votes, Wisconsin has 10, Pennsylvania has 20 and Nevada has six votes. The final Electoral College count is Trump with 306 votes, Clinton with 232.

https://www.bustle.com/articles/199394-updates-to-the-election-recount-process-are-a-dead-end

If you're still invested in trying to stop Trump from getting to the White House in January, your efforts are best concentrated on a different technique. Your last best hope is probably the Hamilton Electors, an organization that's attempting to lobby members of the Electoral College to vote against Trump and potentially send the decision to the House of Representatives. As of right now, there are reportedly seven electors who are planning to defect from their state's popular vote and cast their ballot
for an alternative Republican candidate.
++

Wisconsin RECOUNT  Day 9
The net change is +1,322 votes. (The candidates gained and lost votes throughout wards in Wisconsin, so the totals below represent the amount they have gained or lost after overall losses are subtracted from overall gains.)

+560 Trump/Pence
+609 Clinton/Kaine
+19 Castle/Bradley
+66 Johnson/Weld
+63 Stein/Baraka
+11 Moorhead/Lilly
-6 De la Fuente/Steinberg

That means that Clinton has gained a net 49 votes over Trump, nowhere near what she would need to prevail in the state.
++

THE END!!
++

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Jill Stein Press Conference "Count the Vote" Outside Trump Tower

MONDAY: December 5, 2016, 10 AM.  Jill Stein Held a Press Conference
Outside Trump Tower as Trump tries to suppress Presidential vote counts.
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Too many speakers before Stein spoke.  It was a hard wait---standing-
in a crush of media- Listening to each speaker make the same points
over and over:
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"People of color have been DISENFRANCHISED." But, we came to
hear STEIN.
  img_5177
Finally, Stein spoke for about 7 minutes. She seems to believe this palaver.
And the media. Her support team. Gullible. img_5198
Led by a pretty face with a gentle doctor voice. Reinforcing the meme for
this recount:"People of color have been DISENFRANCHISED". (Wow)


Excerpts: "...important that we have elections that we can trust." A vote that is accurate. Secure. Fair and Just. Every vote counts. Every vote is counted. Democracy and the promise of justice for all. TODAY we celebrate the Michigan decision. Made last night. This recount advances our fundamental Right to Vote- - Election fairness & accuracy- the bedrock of our democracy. At the center- the question of 75,000 blank votes - under votes- a 70% increase from previous elections- communities of color - dis-enfranchised by ERRONEOUS  counting of the votes - in particular in West Detroit. (she claims) this is COMMON- in communities of color...discouraging voting before hand (voter ID and cross State identity checks) AND the odds of their votes before miscounted or DIScounted is increased by ( she claims) about 900% IF you vote in a Community of Color. Need to affirm that votes in these communities are not disrespected. Tossed in, A to a dustbin...we stand firm...hand recount of the paper ballots is a gold standard. Pennsylvania - however- fighting this process at every step. Trumps demands- obscene bureaucratic obstruction. "The fix was in" against a VERIFIED VOTE in the state of Pennsylvania. asking Federal court to stand up for OUR Constitutional right to vote, embodied in this REcount effort. To insure that we cab trust. FAIR and Accurate elections. Donald Trump - there is NOTHING to be afraid o. Belief in democracy. in your victory. Put down your arms. end your bureaucratic obstruction. End intimidation. Join we the people- in a democracy that serves ALL of us. And ELECTIONS that we can trust. to insure that we can trust the results of THIS election. Make IMPROVEMENTS that we need...votes that are accurate. secure. and FAIR. Our constitutional right. "

The pro - Trump opposition was there. They said, "It's important the press gets pictures and statements with our message that IT'S NOT OK to try to derail the results of a legitimate presidential election."  dsc_5404
They carried 3 signs and walked back and forth - quietly- on the sidewalk. Yet the Associated Press accused them of creating a circus-like atmosphere. Guess he didn't like the message....(check it out in the 12 PM section at the link to the Miami Herald)
 ++
MORE to follow - Video and a few pictures with a follow-up report.
++
[pictures and video property of Pamela Hall]
  

Saturday, December 3, 2016

CUNY Student Walkout For Sanctuary Campuses - NYC

Dec. 1, 2016- 1 pm – A “National Day of Action for Sanctuary Campuses”. “No Borders. NO Nations”






A Student Walk-Out Day, in support of the Sanctuary Movement, hosted by a small group of Anthropology Students from the CUNY Grad Center, as well as members of the Freedom Socialist Party [info came compliments of Facebook]


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Their battle cry: “He Says Go Back, We say Fight Back” Along with the usual chants there was a new one, “Don’t film Fascists!



They never expect any opposition like he PRO-ICE patriots.Enjoyed, in particular, the in-your-face sign, “YOU LOST”.

Outraged by Trump's promise to end protections and assistance for ILLEGAL migrants, the student marchers made a last minute decision to organize a walk-out. Once in midtown, they intended to present a petition to the CUNY admins at 205 E. 42 st. (CUNYCentral). However, someone changed their collective minds. No petition today, just the march to |Trump Tower.








I had seen enough of these anarchistic Freedom Socialist dabblers.



Why bother to follow them to Trump Tower. Nothing New here Just the Same ol', Same ol'....


I leave you with a few more signs - here - in the Slideshow



[Photo images and video property of Pamela Hall]
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