In memory: Rachel Corrie (1979 - 2003)

[Bilal]

Two years ago , An Israeli army bulldozer crushed Rachel Corrie as she tried to stop the demolition of a Palestinian home.

((Friday, March 18, 2005

Corrie family seeks answers at hearing

ELLYN FERGUSON

GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON -- The family of Rachel Corrie continued Thursday to press for a more thorough investigation into the 2003 death of The Evergreen State College student in the Gaza Strip. ))

Website of Rachel

http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

last minutes before death of Rachel with pictures:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Corrie

Last emial of RACHEL:
((February 7 2003

Hi friends and family, and others,

I have been in Palestine for two weeks and one hour now, and I still have very few words to describe what I see. It is most difficult for me to think about what's going on here when I sit down to write back to the United States. Something about the virtual portal into luxury. I don't know if many of the children here have ever existed without tank-shell holes in their walls and the towers of an occupying army surveying them constantly from the near horizons. I think, although I'm not entirely sure, that even the smallest of these children understand that life is not like this everywhere. An eight-year-old was shot and killed by an Israeli tank two days before I got here, and many of the children murmur his name to me - Ali - or point at the posters of him on the walls. The children also love to get me to practice my limited Arabic by asking me, "Kaif Sharon?" "Kaif Bush?" and they laugh when I say, "Bush Majnoon", "Sharon Majnoon" back in my limited arabic. (How is Sharon? How is Bush? Bush is crazy. Sharon is crazy.) Of course this isn't quite what I believe, and some of the adults who have the English correct me: "Bush mish Majnoon" ... Bush is a businessman. Today I tried to learn to say, "Bush is a tool", but I don't think it translated quite right. But anyway, there are eight-year-olds here much more aware of the workings of the global power structure than I was just a few years ago. ))

 

[Bilal]

The Death of Rachel Corrie
David Rovics


When she sat down in the dirt
In front of your machine
A lovely woman dressed in red
You in military green
If you had met her in Jerusalem
You might have asked her on a date
But here you were in Gaza
Rolling towards the gate

As your foot went to the floor
Did you recall her eyes
Did her gaze remind you
That you've become what you despise
As you rolled on towards this woman
And ignored all the shouts to stop
Did you feel a shred of doubt
As you watched her body drop

And as your Caterpillar tracks
Upon her body pressed
With twenty tons of deadly force
Crushed the bones within her chest
Could you feel the contours of her face
As you took her life away
Did you serve your country well
On that cool spring day

And when you went back across the Green Line
Back to the open shore
Did you think that this was just another day
In a dirty war
And when you looked out on the water
Did you feel an empty void
Or was it just one more life you've taken
One more home destroyed

Created March, 2003
Copyright David Rovics 2003, all rights reserved

 

[russ_watters]

We've discussed this before: don't stand in front of a moving buldozer. Its inherrently dangerous.

 

[Dayle Record]

The real epiphany is, don't look for humanity where none exists. There is strength in numbers, fight the good fight, but make it count. The sum of your life's efforts can be great, if you persist, and live your life, and work for the good.

 

[1123581321]

natural selection at work, people. don't stand infront of a very large moving vehicle unless you want to die. In the US the tank would have stopped because of lawyers, but israel is different.

compassion is worthless

Fibonacci

 

[TRCSF]

We've discussed this before: don't stand in front of a moving buldozer. Its inherrently dangerous.

Well sure. You can also say, "don't piss off Roman governors, or they'll nail your ass to the tree," or "don't try to challenge two hundred years of racial segregation or some sniper will shoot your ass" or "don't work in a high rise office building that's already been hit once by terrorists, cause you know they're going to try again," or "don't wear a miniskirt if you don't want to get raped."

It's not like it's the victim's fault.

 

[Hurkyl]

One can also say "Don't jump off a cliff, 'cause landing hurts!", or "Don't run into moving traffic!"

Are those also not the victim's fault? :tongue:

 

[TRCSF]

One can also say "Don't jump off a cliff, 'cause landing hurts!", or "Don't run into moving traffic!"

Are those also not the victim's fault? :tongue:

A more appropriate quote would be "don't stand next to a cliff, somebody will push you off" after somebody pushes a person of the cliff.

It's not like Rachel Corrie put the bulldoser in gear and then ran in front of the thing.

 

[Hurkyl]

She still ran out in front of it after it was moving.

 

[TRCSF]

No, it's more like she put herself in front of a moving vehicle.

So did the guy during the Tianamen square massacre. Fortunately the guy who was driving the tank decided not to commit murder.

 

[FredGarvin]

How in the hell is a suit filed against Catepillar going to solve anything? Stupid, stupid girl.

 

[The Rev]

The real epiphany is, don't look for humanity where none exists.

Brilliant.

If only people with compassion could see those without it for what they are, without having to find out the hard way.

$$\Psi$$

The Rev

 

[Pengwuino]

Ah yes, throwing away your life for a cause you probably know little about. Wish people would cherish their own lives more then people like this girl do

 

[TRCSF]

Ah yes, throwing away your life for a cause you probably know little about. Wish people would cherish their own lives more then people like this girl do

On the contrary, I presume Rachel Corrie knew quite a bit about what the cause was. I wish people cared as much about other people as Rachel Corrie did.

 

[klusener]

exactly, she cared enough, loved those people so much, and believed in their cause with so much passion that she was willing to die for them...

 

[russ_watters]

So did the guy during the Tianamen square massacre. Fortunately the guy who was driving the tank decided not to commit murder.

That's a word that has a pretty specific legal definition: http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/293/293lect07.htm

Just to be clear: you are operating under the assumption that the driver purposefully killed her? Do you have any evidence of that?

A buddy of mine was not paying attention one day on a dock (he was in the Navy) and a crane operator lowered an outrigger onto his foot, crushing it. The difference between that and this case is that Rachel Corrie knowingly and purposefully put herself into a situation where her life was at risk, while my buddy just plain wasn't paying attention. Rachel Corrie had complete control over her level of risk and consciously chose to risk her life. Of that, we are certain.

What we don't know for sure is the intent and control of the situation that the driver of the buldozer had. However, in every legal system I'm aware of, until it can be proven that he intended to kill her (murder) or was willfully neglegent in avoiding her (that's not murder, that's homicide), we must assume he did not.

 

[TRCSF]

There's a number of eye witness accounts swearing that the driver was well aware that he was running her over.

So it's their stories versus the driver's.

Given there's no chance of prosecution, even if the guy did in fact murder her, there's no reason to wait for a trial.

 

[Pengwuino]

Did he tell people he knew she was there? My god... that thing is soooooooooooo big, bigger then my damn house.

And id bet my money on her not knowing what she was fighting for and her idea of it being a 'righteous enough cause' to die for being rather wrong. No one can intently look upon the situation between the 2 countries and say anyones side is right enough to give their lives up like that. She really wants to do something about it, go put her body infront of the muzzle of a militants RPG launcher or go protest out of Arafats compound when he was around.

 

[russ_watters]

There's a number of eye witness accounts swearing that the driver was well aware that he was running her over.

So it's their stories versus the driver's.

Given there's no chance of prosecution, even if the guy did in fact murder her, there's no reason to wait for a trial.

Fine - as long as you concede you're making an assumption (though your assumption still doesn't support "murder"). I'll choose to make the opposite one, and there are eyewitness accounts that support it as well. The difference? My assumption has legal standing - yours doesn't. Your assumption absolves Rachel of personal responsibility for her reckless actions. Mine doesn't.

 

[kat]

In honor of "The Other Rachels":

"1. My Name is Rachel Levy (Israeli girl age 17, blown up in a grocery
store)
2. My Name is Rachel Thaler (Israeli girl aged 16, blown up in a pizzeria)
3. My Name is Rachel Levi (Israeli girl aged 19, murdered while waiting
for the bus)
4. My Name is Rachel Gavish (killed with her husband and son while at
home)
5. My Name is Rachel Charhi (blown up while sitting in a cafe)
6. My Name is Rachel Shabo (murdered with her three sons aged 5, 13 and 6
while sitting at home)
"
(From Tom Gross)

 

[Burnsys]

You can also say: Dont stay inside of your own house if it is going to be buldozed by the IDF...
Or don't stay in your own house if you are a jew and you are in the nazi germany. couse you are going to be taken to the gas chamber...

http://www.jewsrenounce.org/bulldozer.gif

 

[Bilal]

Dear Kat, I will divide my answer into two parts:

You mentioned those Israeli victims, but who forced them to live in illegal militant settlements in occupied land, which are legal target for resistance according to international laws? If you go to live in Falluja and rise American flag in your flat with poster ‘’death for Iraqi’’ then you are responsible about any harm of you and your family? Israel is using those civilians as ‘’human shield’’ in the illegal settlement by offering low price flat with no tax.

Compare with those who justifying murdering of Rachel (peace activist) who stay legally in Gaza and those illegal settlers , who decided to live with weapons in hostile environment to steal the land and the resources of the people of WB and Gaza.

1. Rachel Thaler, from Ginot Shomron (illegal settlement in West Bank; her parents should not let her to live illegally among extremist Jews militants who want to kill the Palestinian and to steal their lands!)

2. Racheli Levi has been killed on Wednesday, February 14th 2001 by a Palestinian bus driver The bus attack killed 8 people :
7 soldiers and 1 civilian. (She should not stand among the solider in battlefield (occupied land)
http://vassilovski.com/harpaz/racheli/poems/poems/about.html

3. Rachel Levy; killed in Kiryat Hyoval (illegal settlement in East Jerusalem!)

4. Rachel Gavish : From Elon Morieh (Illegal settlement near Nablus! )

5. Rachel Charhi : Tel Aviv
6. Rachel Shabo : From Itmar ( illegal settlement which is center of Jews terrorist near Nablus !)

This means , the Palestinian only responsible about death of Rachel Charhi in Tel Aviv, while 5 Rachels are put into ‘’illegal settlements among Jews militants who aim to kill the Palestinian. Those 5 Rcahels are victims of Israeli government who send them to live in the occupied land!

In honor of "The Other Rachels":

"1. My Name is Rachel Levy (Israeli girl age 17, blown up in a grocery
store)
2. My Name is Rachel Thaler (Israeli girl aged 16, blown up in a pizzeria)
3. My Name is Rachel Levi (Israeli girl aged 19, murdered while waiting
for the bus)
4. My Name is Rachel Gavish (killed with her husband and son while at
home)
5. My Name is Rachel Charhi (blown up while sitting in a cafe)
6. My Name is Rachel Shabo (murdered with her three sons aged 5, 13 and 6
while sitting at home)
"
(From Tom Gross)

 

[Bilal]

Those who have little knowledge about Jews illegal squatters in WB and Gaza can read these links to see from which communities the 5 Rcahels came:

Example of Jews settelers:

Pictures of settelers stealing the Palestinian olives crops and looking for people to murder:

http://www.palsolidarity.org/portal/alias__Rainbow/lang__en-US/tabID__3442/DesktopDefault.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Goldstein
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque_of_Abraham_massacre

Most of those Jews settelers belong to Kach and Kahane Chai

http://library.nps.navy.mil/home/tgp/kach.htm


Jews setteler child celebrate Burim !

http://www.time.com/time/potw/20040312/6.html

Documentary movie shows Jews settlers planning to plant bombs in primary girls’ Palestinian school in East Jerusalem.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/israel/view/

 

[Bilal]

The last part of my answer should include names of thousands of Palestinian kids and women who murdered by Israeli solids and settlers in last 5 years, but I think everybody knows that Israel murdered dozen of Palestinian for every Jews victim.

This means for every Jews Rachel, there are many Palestinian Fatima murdered with no reason!

Unless Mrs. Kat does not believe blood of human are equal, especially this is the idea of ultra orthodox Jews who still believe in the myth of ''god chosen nation''.

 

[TRCSF]

Fine - as long as you concede you're making an assumption (though your assumption still doesn't support "murder"). I'll choose to make the opposite one, and there are eyewitness accounts that support it as well. The difference? My assumption has legal standing - yours doesn't. Your assumption absolves Rachel of personal responsibility for her reckless actions. Mine doesn't.

Hmm, yes, Rachel Corrie is guilty of reckless endangerment, meanwhile absolving the driver of second degree murder. Or suicide. Despite not being convicted. That's fine if it's your opinion, but let's not pretend it has any legal or moral standing.

 

[TRCSF]

In honor of "The Other Rachels":

"1. My Name is Rachel Levy (Israeli girl age 17, blown up in a grocery
store)
2. My Name is Rachel Thaler (Israeli girl aged 16, blown up in a pizzeria)
3. My Name is Rachel Levi (Israeli girl aged 19, murdered while waiting
for the bus)
4. My Name is Rachel Gavish (killed with her husband and son while at
home)
5. My Name is Rachel Charhi (blown up while sitting in a cafe)
6. My Name is Rachel Shabo (murdered with her three sons aged 5, 13 and 6
while sitting at home)
"
(From Tom Gross)

And is "Rachel" a popular Palestinian name too?

 

[Pengwuino]

@Bilal

I remember you complaining on a different thread that the attack on Iraq was "illegal" according to "international law". Now really... i would love to hear what these laws are and who is suppose to enforce them because ir eally want to know what organization says declaring war on a nation who attempted to assassinate your leadership is illegal while murdering innocent civilians in settlements is perfectly good and swell?

 

[Burnsys]

@Bilal

I remember you complaining on a different thread that the attack on Iraq was "illegal" according to "international law". Now really... i would love to hear what these laws are and who is suppose to enforce them because ir eally want to know what organization says declaring war on a nation who attempted to assassinate your leadership is illegal while murdering innocent civilians in settlements is perfectly good and swell?

nations do not attempt to asesinate political figures, goverments of nations, inteligence agencies, or military branches do. for example the CIA:

Outlook: Assassination and Foreign Policy
A Senate select committee, after uncovering the history of half a dozen American plots to assassinate foreign leaders
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36992-2004Apr23.html

US involvement in Foreign assassinations or attempts
-- prohibited by Presidential decree since 1976 --
1976 - Michael Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica
1980-86 - Moammar Qaddafi, leader of Libya, numerous attempts
1982 - Ayatollah Khomeine, leader of Iran
1983 - General Ahmed Dlimi, Army commander of Morocco
1983 - Miguel d'Escoto, Foreign Minister of Nicaragua
1984 - All nine leaders of the Nicaraguan National Directorate
1985 - Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, Lebanon Shiite leader
1991 - Saddam Hussein, leader of Iraq
1998 - Osama bin Laden, former US trained "freedom fighter".
1999 - Slobodan Mlosevic, President of Yugoslavia
------------------------------------------------

those inocent civilians are not inocent, they are comiting a crime, becouse they are in ilegals settlements, anyway of course they don't deserve the death penalty, but palestinian suicide bombings are mostly directed to idf personal or government oficials, so acording to US Doctrine, those civilians could be called colateral damage. in that case, america has done much much more colateral damage that palestine only in irak...

----------------------------------------------------------

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20021107-042725-6586r

"We are basically opening up and crafting a new tool and tactic which is not for (the United States) alone to use," Silliman said. "The United States is not the only one that can do this (assasination of foreing leaders). We may be putting our own leadership at risk."

"It is difficult to distinguish what we did in Yemen from what Israel has done with the Palestinians with targeted killings," Silliman told UPI.

As recently as July, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer criticized Israel for launching a "heavy handed" attack that killed Salah Shehadeh, the top commander of Hamas' military wing, Izzadine el-Qassa, in Gaza.

The attack by an F-16 with a single 2,000-lb bomb destroyed four buildings killing 14 others, including nine children, and wounding as many as 100, Palestinian authorities said at the time.

 

[Pengwuino]

Pff, what ever happened to our no-assassination policy. Looks like everyone ignored that.

And i don't see how running into a sinagog (sp?) or a cafe and restaurant full of civilians is exactly directed at any military personel. I don't remember any tanks going up to a nightclub and blowing it to smitherines in iraq or running in and spraying bullets into a movie theatre. But then again supposedly i don't get the whole, factful, unbiased information like those who watch Al Jazeera

Add: I obviously meant the government or more specifically, the military. Obviously every member of a nation isn't running after leaders attempting to kill them. I figured it was assumed what i meant.

 

[sid_galt]

Those who have little knowledge about Jews illegal squatters in WB and Gaza can read these links to see from which communities the 5 Rcahels came:

Example of Jews settelers:

Pictures of settelers stealing the Palestinian olives crops and looking for people to murder:

http://www.palsolidarity.org/portal/alias__Rainbow/lang__en-US/tabID__3442/DesktopDefault.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Goldstein
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque_of_Abraham_massacre

Most of those Jews settelers belong to Kach and Kahane Chai

http://library.nps.navy.mil/home/tgp/kach.htm


Jews setteler child celebrate Burim !

http://www.time.com/time/potw/20040312/6.html

Documentary movie shows Jews settlers planning to plant bombs in primary girls’ Palestinian school in East Jerusalem.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/israel/view/

I will only responsd to these with this

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/pal-child-abuse/

 

[stoned]

instead of giving them 3 billions $ a year we should send them this.

 

[sid_galt]

2. Racheli Levi has been killed on Wednesday, February 14th 2001 by a Palestinian bus driver The bus attack killed 8 people :
7 soldiers and 1 civilian. (She should not stand among the solider in battlefield (occupied land)
http://vassilovski.com/harpaz/racheli/poems/poems/about.html

So Racheli Levi cannot stand in a battlefield and is responsible for her death but Rachel Corrie has full rights to stand infront of a moving bulldozer, is absolved of all responsibility and is a goddess?

Edit: Levi was not standing in a battlefield. She was just WAITING for a bus. Waiting for a bus with a few soldiers around is not equal to standing in a battlefield.

 

[Hurkyl]

Wow, I don't think I've ever seen the double-standard demonstrated this clearly before!

 

[sid_galt]

This means , the Palestinian only responsible about death of Rachel Charhi in Tel Aviv, while 5 Rachels are put into ‘’illegal settlements among Jews militants who aim to kill the Palestinian. Those 5 Rcahels are victims of Israeli government who send them to live in the occupied land!

Do you know the meaning of free will and freedom?

All the Rachels here CHOSE to be where they are. Neither the Israeli government nor the Palestinian administration force the Rachels to be where they were.

The only difference is that the Israeli Rachels were MURDERED while Rachel Corrie CHOSE to stand in front of a bulldozer and died. Corrie IS responsible for her death. The other Rachels are not.

And then you go on and put Rachel Corrie in the same league as the other Rachels? How?

 

[1123581321]

you want to know what i think?
Let them do their own thing, and stay out.
Know why?
If you do that, then one country (Israel, because their millitary is superior) would run right through the middle east and take care of the problim for the us.
You know what we do next?
Get a line of people with flamethrowers and toarch the place.
Know what then?
Problim solved!

Fibonacci