His name was Riad Hamad and he was my friend. A friend with courage and conviction who was not afraid to do the right thing.



He was found floating in a lake Thursday- suicided after being bound with duct tape in a manner that the complicit Austin Police Department ruled as "consistent with suicide".

(snip)

Witnesses at the scene Wednesday afternoon say the body, now identified as Riad Hamad, 55, an Austin Independent School District teacher, washed up at Festival Beach Park sometime before 2:00 p.m., when one young woman says she called 9-1-1. She told News Radio 590 KLBJ the man's body had been "wrapped with duct tape".

Austin Police Sergeant Joseph Chacon confirms the man was bound with duct tape.

"The bindings, although I cannot go into them extensively, it's possible that he could have done them to himself," Chacon says.
"We have not ruled out that foul play might be involved. However, we have no indication right now that that is the case."

(snip)

http://www.590klbj.com/News/Story.aspx?ID=89215

Riad ran the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund (PCWF), a radical Gaza-based "charity" that helped children in Gaza and that we tried to help. Several of you sponsored children from his organization for the measly sum of $10/month that makes such a huge difference in their lives by paying for schoolbooks and medicine.

Those of you who did, I honor from the bottom of my heart. Riad was doing such good work that right wing Likud organizations slandered him by linking him and his charity to Islamic fundamentalist terror in newspaper and Internet articles. He had court cases against several of them including that slimey rat David Horowitz.

Shortly before Riad was suicided, his home had been raided by the feds and his computers were confiscated. It sent shockwaves through the pro-Palestinian community because it was one of the last organizations you could use to help people.

My friend is dead. Found floating in a lake, ductaped by "suidice". Other friends of mine are being persecuted too but they're not suicided yet.

In honor of Riad, I am going to be taking this site back to its root of antiwar activism, pro-Palestinian justice, and doing what we wrote on the homepage which is to yank the Democratic Party back to the Left. Those of you who have different ideas will need to find a new home now or stick to your other sites where you laugh at people who share our vision.

This site is for people who think we can make a difference politically, even if it's just a few baby steps because those babysteps have a tremendous effect on the lives of millions of our victims all over the world.

Riad, this one's for you.

this is horrible! :cry:

He ducttaped himself before he committed suicide? Doesn't everybody?

Wouldn't this make it a little difficult to suicide yourself, if you've tied yourself up in ducttape?

I'm sure the Austin Police will stand by the official bs story.

If there's anything we can do to help his family please let us know?

I don't know his family. Just him and God this hurts. Riad was the kindest person you could hope to meet. All he cared about was helping children not grow up with a nightmare.

I think the best we can do to help him and his family is to keep exposing the injustices taking place in the Middle East and changing hearts.

I'm so floored and can't believe they'd peddle this as a suicide.

Trust me, if they ever find me floating in a lake with ductape around my limbs, it won't be a suicide. And my car brakes work fine too. What the hell is with these people? I can't believe the HATE against people trying to make things better.

Riad was killed because he had a kind heart and generous soul. :cry:

Are they Nazis now? :mad:

Tinoire, you must be in the Austin area.
Every time I met Riad he was most kind and lively.
I wouldn't rule out suicide completely because according to some reports his family had mention that he had spoken of suicide, but then the question would be why. Was it because he was broke after spending over 15K working towards freeing the families in the detention camp in Hutto, was it that his aid packages to Palestine were returned for taxes, was it years of FBI intrusions?

"Riad Hamad of the Austin branch of Palestinian Children’s Welfare Fund worked tirelessly to secure the release of the Ibrahims and two other families. Hamad brought money to the jail every week to give to the families. Prisoners with money in Texas prisons can buy slightly better food in prison commissaries."

http://www.socialistworker.org/2007-1/619/619_16_I...

BTW, I just tried to duct tape my hands and it was one of the clumsiest things I've ever barely managed. This needs to be investigated as fully as possible.

I'm in the SF Bay area now. It's a very bizarre suicide. I know he had problems because he sued David Horowitz for slandering him as a terrorist or terrorist sympathizer and the courts ordered Riad to pay the all court costs to the tune of over $60,000. (article here: http://www.ngo-monitor. org/article/_court_dismisses_frivolous_case_against_ngo_monitor_
but please remove the space before the .org)

What you noted about the hands.... It wasn't just his hands but his whole face :cry:

After police fished the body of Riad Hamad out of Lady Bird Lake in East Austin, Texas, they told the media the non-violent Palestinian activist and directing coordinator of the Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund had committed suicide.

“Right now, the indications are that this was not, there was not foul play involved,” police Sgt. Joseph Chacon told KXAN, never mind Mr. Hamad was found bound with duct tape. “Parkgoers who saw the body said the death did not look accidental. They said the man’s face was wrapped with duct tape, and his arms appeared to be tied in front of his body.” KXAN did not bother to explain how Hamad managed to wrap himself in duct tape.

It should be obvious Hamad had a bit of help, although it is apparently too much to expect the corporate media to point out the absurdity of the police explanation. “When the body was removed from the lake, tape was found around the eyes, and the hands and legs were loosely bound,” the Austin police’s public information office expects us to believe. “The bindings of his hands and legs and placement of the tape were consistent with Hamad having done this to himself. Detectives know that Hamad walked from his vehicle to the water on his own based on evidence retrieved from the scene.” Again, no explanation how Mr. Hamad did this or more to the point why a person supposedly interested in suicide would wrap himself in duct tape, loosely or otherwise.

Hamad was not your garden variety suicide, however. “Riad Hamad is a non-violent activist in Austin, Texas. He holds multiple Master’s degrees and has never been arrested. He is now under surveillance by the FBI because he organized the shipment of books to Palestinian children,” Free Speech TV noted before the teacher’s alleged suicide.

“The FBI has on a number of occasions conducted surveillance on Riad Hamad. His neighbors have been interviewed, his co-workers have been questioned, and packages he has sent have been opened,” admits Joe Kaufman, writing for the Scaife funded website, FrontPageMag, run by David Horowitz, a notorious neocon.

Hamad’s crime? He had a problem with Israel killing Palestinians and had shipped books to children.

On Christmas, 2006, Hamad described his crimes, so outrageous for the likes of pro-Israel neocons. He describes a trip to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s T. Don Hutto detention center in Taylor, Texas, where he talked to an incarcerated Muslim woman and “provided her with cash for phone calls and snacks for the children since the jail officials are providing them with mainly pork and ham that they do not eat,” obviously a treasonous act demonstrating his collaboration with terrorists, including Adel Suleiman, a man with a case of severe diabetes who disappeared in the “detention center” dungeons situated in Haskell, Texas, and Oklahoma.

Back in February, the FBI and IRS raided Hamad’s Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund. “We had a very unpleasant visit from the FBI and IRS agents yesterday morning and they walked out with more than 40 boxes of tax returns, forms, documents, books, flags, cds etc.,” Hamad explained in an email to Hajja Romi. “The special agent said that they have a probable cause for money laundering, wire fraud, bank fraud, etc and I think that all of it stems from more than 35 years of watching me.”


“On the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 27, award-winning schoolteacher Riad Hamad, founder of the Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund (PCWF) was getting ready to leave for work when the doorbell rang in his modest apartment in Austin, Texas. It was a dozen FBI and IRS agents bearing a search warrant from Judge Robert Pittman, known for his hostility to Palestinians and Arabs, with whom Riad had had previous experience,” explains a post on the Progressive Independent forum.

For most of the day, the agents searched every nook and cranny of the apartment, then left with more than forty boxes of papers, files, computers and CDs. No charges were filed at the time against Riad and he was not arrested, but the investigators said they had probable cause to investigate wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

PCWF thus joins the Middle East Children’s Alliance, Kinder USA and Holy Land Foundation — all dedicated to helping Palestinian children as a major part of their work — as objects of investigations that have damaged the functioning of their mission. In no case were these organizations found guilty of wrongdoing, and at most some people with Kinder USA were pressured into minor pleas in order to avoid costly court proceedings.

It is not a coincidence that Riad and PCWF have been targeted. PCWF has been associated with all these organizations, and it is reasonable to assume that when investigations turned up nothing there, they used the references to PCWF to go fishing. Riad has been expecting this for 37 years but refuses to be intimidated, and insists upon exercising his full right to defend Palestinian rights — and his own — in America.

Is it possible Riad Hamad was targeted for suicide as well, sort of the same way prize-winning American investigative journalist Gary Webb committed suicide with multiple gunshots to the head? Webb investigated Nicaraguans linked to the CIA-backed Contras who had smuggled cocaine into the U.S. which was then distributed as crack cocaine into Los Angeles. Gary had to go, as he had yet another book on tap before he killed himself over a stolen motorcycle. Riad had to go too, as he was a thorn in the side of the neocons, the FBI, ICE, and the IRS.

Finally, it should be remembered that back in 2003, Israel declared its intention to embark “upon a more aggressive approach to the war on terror that will include staging targeted killings in the United States and other friendly countries,” according to United Press International. “The Israeli statements were confirmed by more than a half dozen U.S. foreign policy and intelligence officials in interviews with UPI. Israeli hit teams, which consist of units or squadrons of the Kidon, a sub-unit for Mossad’s highly secret Metsada department, would stage the operations, former Israeli intelligence sources said. Kidon is a Hebrew word meaning ‘bayonet,’ one former Israeli intelligence source said.”

Is it possible a neocon hit team or as likely a Mossad “bayonet” team took out the school teacher Riad Hamad?

Certainly, it makes more sense than the lame claim that Mr. Hamad wrapped himself up in duct tape and threw himself in Lady Bird Lake.

http://www.roguegovernment.com/news.php?id=8407

And that statement about the targetted killings in the US. I remember it well. It was that story that caused my break with DU. I posted it in LBN and it was immediately locked because it had to do with Palestine. So I reposted it with a comment stating that LBN policy allowed for US related I/P issues. It was angrily locked again or deleted by whatever shill was moderating LBN at the time. I didn't have the energy to reproduce all the links in that article. Jesus Christ. What a crime. His face was duct-taped. What a horrible, horrible way to go. OMG.

http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/

Israel has of late been waging a dirty war against established Islamic institutions in this southern West Bank town of nearly 200,000, the largest in the West Bank, Hebron.

Under the rubric of fighting Hamas, Israeli troops and agents of the Shin Bet, Israel’s notorious domestic security agency, have been raiding and vandalising charities, orphanages, boarding schools and affiliated businesses.

The unprecedented campaign began mid-February when Israeli troops stormed two orphanages run by the Islamic Charitable Society (ISC), one of the oldest charities in Palestine, and the local Muslim Youth Association building. Having thoroughly terrorised hundreds of sleeping children, the soldiers moved to one building after the other, confiscating furniture, smashing glass, looting valuable items and leaving a trail of destruction.

Before they left, the Zionist vandals handed charity officials a tersely worded order signed by the local army commander stating that all the schools, orphanages, eateries, apartment buildings and support businesses owned by the charity were confiscated and that the Israeli army was the sole legal proprietor of all the expropriated premises.

As to the fate of more than 1,000 orphaned boys and girls, poor students, and charity employees, the army said: “it is none of our business. We are only carrying out orders.”



(Ben Heine)
________________________________

The timing IS interesting....

As to the fate of more than 1,000 orphaned boys and girls, poor students, and charity employees, the army said: “it is none of our business. We are only carrying out orders.” :cry:

How dare we support this?

For you, for his family, for us, and for this world.

How does a man duct-tape himself as a mode of suicide? It's incomprehensible. Please accept my sincere condolences, Tinoire. No one with a brain or a heart will believe this.

little old me

and I'm so glad you're still here. Your support means a lot to me.

I don't think anyone with a brain believes this. Two weeks ago the Palestinian community was in shock when the Feds raided Riad's home and took away his computers. He was one of the last ways to legally help Palestine because they keep everyone running scared. This sent cold fear into everyone's hearts but that was the message they wanted to send.

I can't believe it. I'm still in shock. Thanks.................................

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=...

Israel and Canada forming a 'security partnership'. Canada can never again be 'neutral' in the Israel/Palestinian dispute...we have to goose-step in sinc with our fascist brethren.

When will the nightmare end???

gc

I just don't know. Right before I found out about his murder, I watched those farcical debates on ABC where Hillary so firmly promised massive retaliations against anyone who dared to attack Israel. Massive retaliations? I felt sick to my stomach. 2 hours later I gog the call.

Every country is complicit and most people seem either complicit, indifferent or paralyzed. Canada sends back our soldiers, cooperates with France in enslaving the Haitian people and now this partnership you're talking about while Hillary promses to create an organization of umbrella states in the Middle East that the US would protect with massive retaliations. So putrid and evil that words fail you.

Tinoire

What this world needs is an alternative police force, complete with investigators, patrols,search parties and those who would arrest perps, based on evidence gathered.

We cannot count on the current paid off stooges who parade as 'law enforcement' anymore. 9/11 and its aftermath have taught us that. It should be based on that group of lawyers "The Innocence Project" who investigate 'cold cases' where a person is convicted but continues to plead innocence. This group does its own investigation and then, if it finds cause, will start a new legal process to get justice for the falsely convicted.

We could call the new team "The Justice Project" and it would be composed of volunteer and retired police investigators, lawyers, investigative journalists and whoever else is needed to put an objective eye on cases like 9/11, as well as the one where your friend, Riad Hamad, was suicided.

gc


I wanted to devote my 1000th post to something special and this is it.

since the food bank where I was volunteering has had to drastically cut its hours, I have some time to post here now.

This atrocity is just another example of governmental malignance in their obvious complicuty and arrogance in their assumption that we're either too stupid or too self-absorbed to notice or care when something like this happens.

I can believe you are still in shock. Again, I'm so sorry.

little old me

As long as our government considers an entire nation of people to be sub-human, this will continue. I am ready for this idiotic madness to stop. It makes no difference who murdered your friend, in this country Palestinians and those who support them have no protection.

I support the Palestinians and have for nearly forty years. Lets us know what we can do...

I have a friend going down there soon and will ask. There's no medicine, no food, no gas and all in the name of what? I think the best we can do is keep telling the truth about the situation there, keep educating people and keep pressuring politicians to show some even-handedness.

There's going to be an autopsy and they warned it could take several weeks.

Riad's main thing was getting computers and cameras into Gaza to show the world what's really going on down there. That and his microbusiness project. I don't know who'll have the courage to take it over because everyone's literally paralyzed. I've never heard so much fear in people's voices before. Everyone got the message. Again.

I don't know how to make it stop. It's total madness.

The footer in the e-mails from one of my Gazan friends is MLK's quote "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." There was so much hope when they knocked down that wall :( I'll let you know if there's anything we can do but the least we can do is refuse to shut up.

A friend, brother, comrade has either committed suicide or was murdered

Eileen Fleming

WAWA Blog: I have known and worked with Riad Hamad, founder of the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund for over three years. It was reported to me he committed suicide two days ago. UPDATE: April 18 9:30 AM EST: Riad was found bound with duct tape on his mouth.

BACKGROUND:

On the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008, Riad, an award-winning schoolteacher in Texas and a Lebanese Muslim was in his bathroom getting ready for work when the doorbell rang at his modest apartment in Austin, Texas.

About 18 FBI and IRS agents bearing guns and a search warrant from Judge Robert Pittman, ( well known for his hostility to Palestinians and Arabs and with whom Riad has had previous experience with) searched every nook and cranny of his apartment.

They left with more than forty boxes of papers, files, computers, CDs and an ounce and a half of catnip.

No charges were filed at the time against Riad and he was not arrested, but the investigators claim they had probable cause to investigate wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

PCWF thus joins the Middle East Children's Alliance, Kinder USA and Holy Land Foundation - all dedicated to helping Palestinian children as a major part of their work - as objects of investigations that have damaged the functioning of their mission. NOT one of these these organizations have been found guilty of any wrongdoing.

But some people with Kinder USA were pressured into minor pleas in order to avoid costly court proceedings.

It is not a coincidence that Riad and PCWF have been targeted as PCWF has been associated with all these organizations.

The Palestine Children's Welfare Fund is an enterprise that was established by a group of individuals whose goals are to improve the living standards of the children of Palestine in the refugee camps inside Palestine. The group aims to provide the children of the refugee camps with better educational opportunities, health facilities and a bright future without violence, hatred and discrimination. The organization has branches and volunteers in more than ten countries and is not connected with any militant or political association of any kind. PCWF works throughout Europe, Canada and the United States and operates its financial and social work from Palestine to ensure that our work is based in the place where it is needed the most to reach the children of Palestine.

The group works in close coordination with the Union of Health Workers Committees in Gaza, an organization that operates Alawda hospital in Gaza, the largest hospital in Gaza, and several other clinics throughout the occupied territories of Palestine. We also work with various civic and social societies, the Union of Health Workers Committees in Gaza and other Palestinian cities to locate and provide sponsors for needy children in the refugee camps of the West Bank and Gaza. The goal is to provide the children with their basic needs such as food, clothing, educational tools and health care regardless of religious affiliation.

PCWF is a non-political, non-religious enterprise whose aspirations are purely humanitarian and for the purpose of emancipating the children of Palestine and the human rights of the people and children of Palestine.

http://www.pcwf.org/

Riad had been expecting this for 37 years but refused to be intimidated, and insisted upon exercising his full right to defend Palestinian rights - and his own - in America.

Riad lived off his modest schoolteacher salary.

100% of the proceeds from PCWF have benefited thousands of Palestinians with jobs, food, medicine, books, hospital equipment and other humanitarian needs.

On April 6, 2008 he wrote:

Dear friends,

Please DO NOT respond to this email as it is for your information only..besides the government harassment, the hateful environment from some students at school because I am an Arab and a Muslim...and their racist comments, I have been getting phone calls around midnight by some one saying "where is your camel.." and last...a car was vandalized about two years ago....last night around 1 30 in the morning..someone rang the bell and ran away....and you could hear all the dogs in the neighborhood barking when the person who rang the bell ran away...A real loving environment towards Arabs and Muslims....and it makes wonder..what have I done wrong?

SHUKRAN for your work and support
Salamat
Riad Hamad

On April 11, 2008 he wrote his final email to me:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/...

Riad Elsolh Hamad
http://www.pcwf.org , http://www.marhabafrompalestine.com, Palestine Children's Welfare Fund. 201 W. Stassney # 201, Austin, Texas 78745 Support the children of Palestine by buying Palestinian arts and crafts. Sustain the Palestinian economy and provide jobs for the men, women and farmers in Palestine to live with pride and dignity TILL WE RETURN.

I received an email on April 16 that Riad had committed suicide the day before.

PLEASE DO SOMETHING:

Call or write your Congressional Representatives and tell them to find out why PCWF and other organizations that benefit Palestinian children are being targeted.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety - Benjamin Franklin

Much more here fom others who knew him, he was very loved: http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voice...

:( She's been very demonized for it too.

I got that last e-mail and spread it through my list. He was being totally persecuted and the police did nothing. Nothing.

Come to think of it, they have his computer so they have all our correspondence now. Most of it centered around which children I wanted to adopt whose eyes tore straight through my soul. Yeah, yippee. Always wanted to have more friends in the Fed.

We're not even allowed to feel sympathy are we?

Bless her for not backing down.

I hope I speak for everyone here in expressing the shock and outrage that greeted this horrible news.

While we may not all travel the same road, we are resolute in reaching the same goal.

We have to make it stop. We have no choice.

Peace be with you at such an angry time.

DB

I'm in total shock over this and people are stunned frozen. Right now my mind is a bit numb. I'm trying to be peaceful about it but all I feel is bitterness and an immense sense of loss. Seriously, I don't even know what to write. Killed for getting a few lousy dollars down there, a few cameras and a few computers. It's mind-boggling how cheap our lives are.

Suicide and duct-taped...OMG. The lies they tell and the lies people believe. So infuriating...so unfair.....so awful. Just makes us keep fighting though.....

Damn.I am so sorry....sending love & cyber hugs to you ...wish I could do more....

I certainly support whatever you do here.
:rose:

Tonight after answering this thread, I'm going to light a fire, play Ofra Haza's Kaddish for Riad and spend time with those lovely cards you sent me.

This Kaddish was sung for my father when he died



Just listening to it know after finding a video of it is well too much. Thank you DR. Free Palestine. And stop this fighting between Jews, Christians and Muslims. What madness is this? :hug:

Sorry for your loss, and for all of us.

:( It seems like so long ago, years before the war ever started, standing at a busy intersection near San Francisco with a stupid little sign that said "Free Palestine". A week later the Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Redeemer, that organized that protest, was burned down.

Thank you so much. Wish you were still in the area. The friends who organized that pool party were asking about you last week and wishing you well.

It's such a huge loss. He was just one person but doing so much. :hug:

Tin, I love you so dearly... because you are such a special soul as was he. Tears stream down my face as I read and type because your spirit reaches me.

Will you be able to go to his service or whatever may be held in his honor? I would dearly love to put together some flowers or something.. money in lieu of the PCW program in his memory via PI.. IF anyone is up for it!

Duct-taped mouth was a message sent via those not wanting the message sent. Suicide? No way... he knew how important what he was doing or a part of was and IMHO, he would not have put that in jeopardy for anything.

It's just the crackdown or further crackdown of freedom and truth hitting home in an Austin, Texas suburb.

It can happen to anyone.. anywhere.

Sending LOVE to all involved....

:loveya:

:hug: I don't know if I can make it to the service. To be honest with you, this is so stunning that I don't know anything about services. He's being autopsied now and they said that could take a few weeks. ??? I'll see what I can find out without intruding because I don't know his family. It'll depend on what type of service they have (private, family only?).

You know who told me the news too :cry:

I think instead of sending flowers Riad would prefer we get some help to Palestine. I'm going to talk to a friend who's going down there to follow up on a film he made and discuss alternatives. Now more than ever we need to speak out because Palestinians in the US are literally paralyzed. They have no rights here and every move they make is viewed with suspicion. Everyone is Hamas. Everyone is a terrorist or terrorist sympathizer. If we, who know better, abandon them and allow that farce to go on, well, we can't abandon them. They're our brothers and sisters.

He knew how impactful what he was doing was and how hated he was for it.

Go to the camera dot org website. There's an article on their front page that left me stunned :cry: Riad's murder was a clear warning to people who won't shut up and play ball with the savagery and the land theft. Thank you for the love and warmth. I can't get over this! You know how many people here talked to him, choosing children to sponsor and having their hearts torn out because they couldn't sponsor them all. I adopted 5 a few months ago quickly flipping through the photographs unable to look into those children's eyes and just grabbing the first 5 who totally seared my heart. So now I wonder who will have the courage and the energy to take over for him. There's so much fear in the community now. I'm not afraid, just extremely angry. No outsiders are trusted now. That happened after the raid but now it's even worse. His poor family! OMG Candie, I can't even wrap my mind around this. The horror! Duct-taped and drowned? :cry: :cry: How could anyone? How can anyone hate so much?

You know, you expect this in Israel or Gaza, but not here in America... The shock is doubly so because of that. Add to that the suicide by duct tape explanation offered by the cops... How precious.

They must think us utter fools or are simply arrogant with the idea that there is little we can do.

I am so sorry for your loss dearest Tinore, and the loss to those whose lives your friend touched. There are no words to discribe what I feel right now.

I am so sorry.

May his life be a beacon for others.

To Allah we belong and to Allah we return.

Peace.

I know what you mean but there have been so many things going on in America too that we never talk about. The Churches of sympathizing Palestinian Christians are burned down without any outcry and barely a mention in the news. Any American churches that sympathize with them are demonized. Before 911 Muslim networks in the US shut down to more easily perpetuate that fraud that Muslims did it as the 5 dancing Israelis who filmed the destruction of the towers gleefully told the arresting officers "We are not your problem. Your problems are our problems. The Palestinians are the problem."

Suicide by duct-tape? But we're not utter fools. I just hope the shockwaves are channeled into a more constructive fight instead of fear that shuts people up even more. You're so right about "simply arrogant with the idea that there is little we can do". I'm determined to fight that even more now. Riad has a daughter who lives not too far away from me. I can't imagine what she's going through. I weep for his daughter and his family.

The Palestinian Children’s Welfare Fund (PCWF) is one of a multitude of Islamic children’s charities whose stated goal is “to improve the living standards of the children of Palestine.” One of the ways the PCWF has demonstrated this was to conduct a drawing contest in October of 2002, whereby children won money for drawing gruesome pictures depicting anti-Semitic and violent images.

The PCWF is headed by Riad Hamad. Hamad's resume includes being fired from Austin Community College for allegedly "making racist slurs and sexist jokes in the classroom." He doesn't agree, though; he says he was fired for "making statements against the U.S. government." Hamad is currently an instructor at a different school, in his words, "till I get fired again."

The FBI has on a number of occasions conducted surveillance on Riad Hamad. His neighbors have been interviewed, his co-workers have been questioned, and packages he has sent have been opened - with good reason, it would appear.

Riad Hamad spelled out his anti-Semitic agenda during a response to an online article. According to his version of history, "Britain allowed several hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to land in Palestine despite the opposition of the original inhabitants. In our opinion, they (sic) immigrants arrived illegally and will be deported to their nation of origin… sooner or later." He also helpfully cleared up one of the author's misconceptions: "You are assuming that most of us Arabs recognize the right of Israel to exist."

The Palestinian Children’s Welfare Fund works closely with the Holy Land Trust, a Christian nonprofit organization with offices in the U.S., Iraq and the Palestinian territories. Joseph Farrah, Editor of World Net Daily, has described the Holy Land Trust's activities: “The lies this group tells in the name of Christianity are big and bold. They include the standard lines about Jews robbing the homes of Arabs, stealing their land and brutalizing them in a repressive state of military occupation. These so-called Christians even rationalize terrorism.”

Last December, the co-founder of the PCWF, Bob Rossi, and Margaret Stephens (a.k.a. Margaret Phillips) found themselves held by Israeli authorities in the home of the Executive Director of the Holy Land Trust, Sami Awad, in Bethlehem. Of the event, Rossi states, “One evening, two of our Palestinian colleagues’ homes were seized by Israeli forces.”

That's peculiar, as Israel typically seizes (or destroys) the homes of people aiding and abetting terrorism.

Bob and Margaret publish Northwest Ethnic Voice, an Oregonian newsletter that endorsed an ANSWER protest against President George Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft.

The Northwest Ethnic Voice website links to ramallahonline.com, a radical site that features anti-Israel poems, petitions and favorable pictures of terrorists, including one of Osama bin Laden. There is also a link to the website of rapper The Iron Shiek, who believes that Israel’s control of the Palestinian territories is far worse than suicide bombings. He raps, “Ariel Sharon, a real cabron/I’d like to meet him in a dark alley and it’s on/He’d be the Penguin and I’d be Batman/My flurry of fists would sink that fat man.” The PCWF ordered 100 of his CDs for a recent fundraiser.

Fundraisers are important for the PCWF, because how else can they afford to give out an $8,000 scholarship, whereby they force the winner to “wear a Palestinian flag or a pin every day he/she attends classes in the United States”?

(snip)

The Palestinian Children’s Welfare Fund and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund are two of the many Islamic charities in the United States alone, which claim to be non-political yet exploit national and international politics to the utmost. Why would they allow someone into their staff that obviously harbors affection for suicide bombers? And into whose hands goes is she delivering “welfare” and “relief”? Is it those children that are truly innocent, or is it those that make up Shadya Hantouli’s gallery?

(snip) http://frontpagemag. com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=8394 (You'll have to remove the space. I don't want to link to those pigs

Look what they did to him.







After he refused to roll over like a lamb and wrote to Bush in 2002, things got even worse.

To: George Bush,

President of the United States of America

Washington, DC

I was very amused last week when I was trying to get into my car in the morning on my way to work, when my neighbor across the street came out and asked me if we could talk. Although I was in a hurry since I was late, I listened to him since he said that the topic was important. My neighbor told me that he was approached by the FBI and was asked many questions about me and was asked to put a camera in his house to watch me. The request was denied, as my neighbor, who happened to be a Libertarian, did not trust the motives of the FBI. Also, my neighbor told him that, "Riad is my friend and I would not spy on him." Apparently, the agent did not give up and told my neighbor that he would call on him again.

Although I knew and expected such activities by the FBI, I was surprised about their lack of professionalism and the absence of decency. I carry my Iraqi flags to every rally and I am always the loudest and the most obvious. Hundreds of people come and ask me about the flags as they do not know which countries the flags stand for, and I have to say, "These are the flags of the countries that your tax money is paying to occupy, kill and maim," since not many of them knew the colors of the flags of Palestine or Iraq. For the FBI to have to go and knock on my neighbor’s doors is very unprofessional and illegal. Besides, the FBI has been harassing members of the International Solidarity Movement and monitoring their phone calls, e-mails and movements around the nation. I assume this is an effort to harass them, intimidate them, and scare them from going around the United States to expose your lies, and that of your administration, about the real situation in occupied Palestine.

I have lived, went to college, and worked in the United States for over 30 years. I have no criminal record and not even a suspicion of committing a crime, such as your cocaine addiction, drunk driving, and going AWOL during your National Guard duty in Texas. Also, I have never sold shares of a bankrupt company to the pension fund of Bahrain National Oil Company like you did, which is nothing but fraud and insider trading.

I work with a group of individuals around the globe called the Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund in association with the Holy Land Trust out of Bethlehem, Palestine. We bring olive wood and embroidery from Palestine and raise money in the United States for the women and the children of the refugee camps. We are non-political and non-religious, and our donors and supporters are Muslims, Christians, Jews, and others who know better than to believe your message of hatred and aggression. Every penny we receive is accounted for and every penny we spend is accounted for on our Web site that I am sure that you have monitored and observed. Also, we sponsor only civilians who are either orphans or not affiliated with any political or religious groups and their only crime is that they are Palestinians.

As a patriotic citizen of this country, and to make sure that I give you a hand in combating "terrorism," I have posted a sign near in our neighborhood letting people know that we are under surveillance. And asking our neighbors and the passers by to inform the FBI of any suspicious activities and the sign and the pictures of the house with the sign is on the Web page link.

Over the past weekend, several of our neighbors came by and apologized for your stupidity and that of the FBI and other officials. One of them told me that, "I am ashamed to say that I am an American since George Bush became president." Others tried to apologize, and I had to remind that I am also ashamed of you and your actions and that of your administration. I have not been outside the United States since you became president, to avoid showing my passport and avoid associating with you and your administration. Besides helping you monitor me by posting the sign near our home, I will help you find some terrorists that I know and I believe that they are threat to the safety and the security of the United States. You do not have to look far to find them and apprehend them, and if you do not soon, WE THE PEOPLE will some day soon. These terrorists are now in Washington and you see them every time you have a cabinet meeting and I am afraid you are one of them.

George,

Get the hell out of my life and take your FBI thugs from our neighborhood because they are not wanted.

Riad Hamad
Austin, Texas

Thank you so much for your post. It means a lot to me. It means even more that we achieve justice for Palestine. May his life be a beacon to others and may Allah have mercy on his kind, good soul. I hope his death is honored and that more people stop fearing because fear is how they're getting to us.

How dare they? How did they dare? His daughter lives not too far away from me, if I'm able to reach her, I'll pass on your condolences and all the support coming from people here.

I am sorry for us all Psychodad. My loss is the selfish loss of a friend who had the courage to stand up but the bond was purely an activist one. The real loss is Palestine's. Riad was one of the last conduits for help. Oh Psychodad, I am so sorry. So I say Kaddish for him because I don't know the Muslim prayer but may he find peace in Allah's arms and may we all see peace for Palestine during our lifetime.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zusYVHXJpHU

http://www.arabamericannews.com/newsarticle.php?ar...

I feel ashamed to have your condolences. It makes me feel so selfish when I think of his family's pain but thank you so much my friend :hug:

its necessary and right. But a totally tragic turn. Very sorry to hear of this.
Do him some justice, as well as all people of the middle east.
Justice for all, or justice for none.

I've been trying so hard, with all my might to do things that can make a tangible difference in their daily lives (like getting medicine there, working with the ISM, sponsoring kids) and getting the truth out. PI was founded mostly for that because I couldn't take the complicity that silenced real discussion and prevented help anymore. Tonight I'm banding my head against the wall. A few years ago, before you joined the IDF destroyed the lens of a courageous young journalist there. We raised the money to replace that lens. He's now a target. Doing what is necessary and right gets people killed sometimes. So you support their commitment knowing its their choice but then when they're killed you ask yourself a million questions through the pain, anger and worse, sense of responsibility to a brother/sister. How do we, at PI, best do him some justice? Taking PI to its roots where people can come to learn without getting beaten up is the best way I know how with this particular tool. Any ideas you have are welcome. There's so much I wish we could do but I know how they're watching this site and any other site that dares to deviate.

I think people with leading edge, or up against the wall, genuine, effective resistance at heart- clearly have security considerations. I think being forthright and open about personal information ie who we really are and what we want to do
(in moral, non violent, public, informational counterinsurgency, outreach, neighbor to neighbor, stranger to stranger. imagine a national outbreak of street corner theater?) sort of a total information defense. Demand justice for all, its already in the rules, they just need to be enforced. Play the Ten Commandments and the American Revolution for all their worth. Any child knows right and wrong, almost all people do too. But they can lie to themselves better than any talking head.
The American people need to take the liberal media head on and have it tried and convicted for militarized propaganda directed at American citizens, making all of our (multinational/interplanetary? corporate) government's blood, oil and money crimes possible. CNN was caught cold with army psychops who obviously run the place, theyre the bigdogs of mindfucking and coverup. These pricks have to be beaten first.
Keep the middle east a generalized, consolidated interest, peace is peace for all.
spotlight legitimate on the ground information about Gaza and so forth, but also Haiti and African atrocities, those have been the scenes of totally misrepresented horrors, and the non psych op truth should be made available. Black America is one of the keys to our systems weakness, if they are united with us in righteous opposition, change will come. Being open and legal in our actions, hiding nothing should make it harder for them to threaten harm or suppression.
Theoretically, anyway.
be safe and fearless.

I'm very sorry over this... one of the real martyrs for the cause of justice.

Looks like the police gave a lynching the nod... austin texas... despicable.

He lived a good life and died a noble warrior - should we all be so lucky.

Why do we kill the wisest people the fastest; our tragedy, all of ours to lose
the goodhearted souls who knit the fabric of our existance together beyond
suffering and venom.

.. a martyred jesus handed a ducttape fatwa. .. by the american taliban.

I'm in real shock over this. You know these things happen but when they hit so close to home, it's incomprehensible.

I posted some stuff up above with the picures of his home and the letter he wrote to Bush. Riad had more courage in his little finger than most people I know. I hope his family will be ok. They tried to shut him up before and had fired him from a job on some made up pretense that he'd made a sexist slur during a conversation that never took place. The real reason was speaking up for Palestine. Most people would have stopped right there. He was a great soul. How dare anyone??! What kind of people can dact tape a man, drown him and sleep at night?

I have no answers, just more determination. And an immense sense of loss.

with a picture of him holding his flag and these words (very small) under it...

.. a martyred jesus handed a ducttape fatwa. .. by the american taliban.

With the letters PCWF very large above his head. On the back could be? I'm sure heads here could put something together.

Once it was together we could buy them and donate all the funds to the PCWF in his memory or something.

Just an idea.

Seems to me when a person is targeted like this... they need to get out to all media and tell the world because the more you are seen and heard, the less easy it is for thugs to take you out.

Get your face pasted EVERYWHERE and talk about NOT being suicidal or taking anyone else's life or your own.... just like you did.

Here's hoping to see you the end of May!! Check email.

Edited to add:

YouTube videos... if anyone could put one of these together it would be available ALL over the web regarding his killing and what he was about and what happened to him.

Also, you have this as more of a political site... maybe it should go to more of a complicity forum which covers children's issues all over the world. In that it could cover the complicity of the US government and those of the political ilk. Just a thought as it seems it's where YOUR heart's focus remains.

as the police chief says in the boxed excerpt.

Watch the video in the upper right corner of the link below before it's taken down. The reporter was there all day and interviewed the girl who found him. He demonstrates how his hands were tied with rope in front of him, in addition to the duct tape around his head covering his mouth.

http://www.keyetv.com/content/news/topnews/story.a...

Transcript:
"...Police call it a suspicious death and they pretty much have to. When a man is found dead with his hands tied in what looks like a rope (reporters puts hand in front of neck in tied position) and his mouth covered in what witnesses describe as duct tape...."

Then the girl says the police told her he was wanted by the FBI.

The complicity of the police department is pretty obvious.

A wonderful human being.

but the tempo was upped a few weeks ago.

Here's a video of Riad explaining a few things "No books for Palestinian children say the FBI and Israel"

http://www.freespeech.org/videodb/viewers/realmedi...

The complicity with their added insult to our intelligence is jarring. A very wonderful human being. We're going to miss him terribly, very few people have his courage. I hope his effort doesn't die too because that would be an added insult to what they did to him.

From what I've seen in this thread, Riad Hamad was a man on a mission, whose life had a purpose and who had everything to live for. People like that rarely kill themselves, particularly not with goddamned duct tape!:wtf:

No, Riad Hamad was murdered. I'm certain of it. Too bad the police don't give a fuck.

I'll read the Eileen Fleming piece on next Saturday's "Naked Lunch Radio."

bless her courageous heart. There will be radio tributes and net tributes too. I'll try to post them or links to them tomorrow. Suicided my ass too. Murdered in cold blood like thousands of Palestinians.

and that somebody, somewhere is keeping a list. After this nightmare is over, there will be a lot of people who will need to go to prison for the rest of their unnatural lives.

It's good to see you. I'm trying to find out about his family now, without intruding. I found out there will be a radio tribute tonight where people can call in and I'll post the information at the end of this thread. I'm with you on the prison bit. Such crimes can't be tolerate.

Mind racing: how could they do such a thing? why am I still surprised that they would do such a thing?

My love goes out to all of you who are suffering because of this incident. A terrible loss and hopefully the truth about the good works this man did will see the light of day. Soon. My optimism is a little low right now though.

:hug:

My mind is still reeling too like many people's. Thanks for the love. I know the truth will come out and his good works already see the light of day. All the kids he helped are a testament to that. One thing Riad did was go to protests all over the US to hand out Palestinian flags. Someone sent me a link to one but I don't want to post it without their permission.

Today, I'm trying to celebrate his life more than concentrating on his loss. What a character. Look at this :hug:

A letter to George Bush,

The Appointed president of the United States,

Dear George,

I read with much interest your statements and those of Collin Powell your messenger to the world and your voice in support the Zionist aggression against the innocent Palestinian civilians and Arabs. I am talking in particular about your comments about Iraq, the need for a regime change and the situation in the Arab world and Palestine under the Palestinian Authority when it comes to democracy and self-determination. Please allow me to point out a couple of things for you since I have read you biography and I understand that you do not “like to read big books” so I will use my teaching skills for underachievers to help you understand a fact or two about the Arab world that your pappy told you is called “the Middle East.”

First, you call for a “regime change” in Iraq, the land of the Tigers and the Euphrates that kicked many tyrants from Genghis Khan and his barbarians to the British in the middle of the twentieth century. Iraq, the cradle of civilization that gave you logarithms, architecture, astronomy, literature and anatomy when your ancestors in Europe were still debating if women had souls and hundreds of years before they tortured Galileo for promoting the idea that the earth is round. While I wholeheartedly agree with the call for a democratic Iraq and for that matter and for democratic regimes in every Arab country, you are the last one who should stick his smelly nose in the business of the Iraqi people.

Let me remind you that it was the CIA and the U.S government that forced prime minister of Iran Mussadaq in 1954, out of office and landed him in jail and killed him when it assisted the infamous Shah of Iran to return to power against the will or the heroic Iranian people. The apology of Madeline Albright forty five years later to the Iranian people did not serve anything to the Iranian people except for may be a piece of newspaper to wrap up their daily bread with.

George, it was the United States that invaded Lebanon in 1958 to impose Camille Chamoun a president on the people of Lebanon, despite the fact that the Lebanese parliament an the Lebanese people did not want to amend the constitution to allow him to run for office again. However, since he was a good CIA operative, Eisenhower saw it fit to land marines on the shores of Beirut to intimidate the Lebanese people and force them to accept Chamoun. The Marines finally left after they discovered that the Lebanese are of a different breed and threats to do not intimidate them.

Secondly, you were probably driving your pappy’s car in Houston, Texas and experimenting with cocaine when your pappy in the CIA and the war criminal Henry Kissinger pulled a coup de ta in Chile on September 11th, 1974, (what a coincidence huh) and killed the democratically elected president Allende’ because he threatened the “interests” of the United States and specifically those of the five copper companies that operated in the region. It is the military take over that lead to the murder of more than 100,000 innocent civilians in a soccer field in Chile so the United States can maintain its steady supplies of copper to make pennies you can use in your gum machines. According to the war criminal Henry Kissinger, the reason for the coup was that the Chilean people proved that they “ were not mature enough” to elect a president freely since they elected a socialist president by an electoral majority.

Thirdly, George you say that you want to see a regime change in Iraq because it is a menace and constitute a “ threat to world peace” with its weapons of mass destruction. Let’s talk about that a little bit and may be we can find out who is the menace and who threatens world peace with weapons of mass destruction. Since you do not like to read fat books you probably do not know that the United States was the first country in the world to use weapons of mass destruction. The United States used the H-bomb against the Japanese and then Agent Orange against the poor innocent Vietnamese civilians and killed more than two millions of them and maimed more than 200,000 children who live till today with permanent disabilities. Not to mention the hundreds of millions of dollars that poor taxpayers like me have to pay to cover the medical expenses of the Vietnam war veterans who were exposed to Agent orange that the U.S government denied its side effects till the children of the generals who went to Vietnam started to suffer and they saw first hand the consequences of the use of biological weapons.

If your history information does not go that far back let me remind you of the war that the U.S launched against Iraq (the country that you pronounce Eyerak) when the United States and the allied troops used depleted uranium in their attacks on innocent civilian Iraqis causing tens of thousands of cases of cancer, leukemia, skin diseases and other serious birth defects. The matter is not important since the victims are Iraqis but who is paying the hundreds of millions of dollars in medical bills to cover the medical expenses and early retirement of the over 100,000 U.S troops and more of the NATO troops who were exposed to the same elements.

Dear George,

I know that I am boring you and you do not like to think that far ahead and that much about trivial matters like this since you want to watch your football and baseball games and eat your pretzels but these issues affect me, my life, my tax bill and the future of my children and my grandchildren. It also effects my basic human principles as I do not believe in taking a human life for any reason even if it means that I have to pay higher prices for gas, drive an electric car or ride a bicycle to work. If you were really serious about controlling weapons of mass destruction and bringing about world peace you would sign the Land Mines Ban Treaty now. If you were really concerned about the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and biological weapons you would abandon your AIPAC (American Israeli Political Action Committee) ties at the expense of losing the next elections and force Israel to sign the international treaties on the proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. It is the only country in the region that you call the Middle East (it is the Near East George..we are the first after Turkey that is in Europe..the Arab world for thousands of years) that owns these weapons and refuses to allow inspections although some Israeli scientists are already complaining about the lack of safety in the Israeli nuclear plants and other plants that produce weapons of mass destruction.

Yes, Israel the country that you send four billion dollars a year to finance its military machine when two out of four of our children in Texas are underfed. When one out of two students in our classrooms in Austin receives subsidized meals and we have more homeless people than the population of some nations. Yes, Texas where we spend more money on recreational drugs than we spend on our entire energy bill to the Arabian Gulf countries and more. Yes, Texas, the state that you left two years ago with the ranking of the worst air quality in the nation. Yes, we beat California and Los Angeles Mr. President. What an achievement.

Dear George,

If you want me to believe you when you say that you care about humanity and human rights values why do not you sign and urge the Congress and the Senate to ratify the International Criminal Court Treaty that you denounced today. I know that you would not and cannot in order to protect the war criminals that you have in your cabinet, Cheney (Gulf War and Vietnam), Rumsfeld, (Vietnam and Afghanistan), Powell, (Iraq invasion of 1992) and yourself in the last two years. I know that you would not because it means you will have to land Sharon, Perez, Mofaz and the rest of the criminals from Tel Aviv to visit you in the federal penitentiary rather than the Lincoln room in the White House.

George,
I do no believe you. Nobody believes you. My cat does not believe you. The only one that believes you is that idiot you see every morning when you brush your teeth before you go out to the world and open your mouth with lies. If you do not know whom I am talking about go to the mirror now and look. Look hard George.



Riad Hamad

Austin, Texas



B.A Middle Eastern Studies

B.A Political Science

B.A Economics

M.A. Political Science/Geography

M. Ed. Education/ History

M.Ed Technology



Currently working on a Ph.D. in Educational Technology/MBA and love to read fat books.

Draft the elderly
From: Riad Elsolh Hamad <mailto:pcwfaustin@...>
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 11:49 PM
To: president@...
Subject: Mr. President Bush, I found it. I found it. Military draft for the elderly.


Dear Mr. President Bush,

On the occasion of your glorious inauguration next week for the second term of your presidency, I would like to congratulate you and offer you my full and total support. As a patriotic American and a fellow Yeehaw Texas who lives a little ways from Crawford, your homestead, I would like to offer you my services and some ideas to help you resolve some of the problems facing your great nation. Although I said in the title of the letter I found it, I found it, my name is not Issac Newton and no, I am not Jewish and by no means I am a physicist. My name is Riad Elsolh Hamad, an Arab and a Muslim from Albasta Alfowqa in Beirut, Lebanon and the only thing that is common between Mr. Newton and I, is the fact that like him, I had to chop off a slice of my 4 inches Arab biological weapon that I was born with in a process called circumcision. The biological weapon that we the Arabs and Muslims are using to take over the world through voting booths and democracy. The blessed democracy that you are bestowing on my brothers and sisters in Iraq with to elect elderly Shia clerics. The Shia clerics who will make sure that just like Iran, the elections at the end of this month are the first and last elections that will be held after we liberated these heathens from our crony and lackey the butcher of Iraq Saddam.

As I said, my name is Riad Elsolh Hamad and my son has a completely different name than mine in pronunciation and spelling and my son and I are 32 years apart in age. Still a lot of people here in Texas do not seem to recognize the differences between the two of us in age, height and weight and they still call both of us the same name. My son and I are still called: Camel jockeys, Sand niggers, towel face, and camel herders despite the fact that none of us has ever lived in a desert and the first camel I ever saw was in the San Antonio Zoo in Texas. This is despite the fact that I have lived her for 34 years and paid more income taxes than Texaco and Exxon ever did.

Please excuse me for providing you with economic advice since we Ayrabs are only good enough for gas stations, grocery stores and falafel stands. This is despite the fact that the average Arab in the United States earns 5000 dollars annually more than the average American and has at least two years of college education more than the average Americans. We left economic policy to our cousins, the children of Abraham, the Zionist Jews to make sure that that they allocate billions of dollars a year to support the only democracy in the middle east, israel. The billions that we still send to kill men, women and children and destroy homes of Palestinian Arabs regardless of the negative consequences of such policies on our interests in the Arab and Muslim worlds.

Dear Mr. President,
From what I have been reading in the news there are several major policy and executive issues that you have to deal with and allow me to summarize below as follows:

1) The social security fund and its ability to provide services for the elderly beyond the year 2020.

2) The Medicare and Medicaid funds and their ability to fund increasing medical services for the growing elderly population.

3) The federal fiscal deficit that is hovering around 500 billion dollars a year and a national debt that is around 7. 6 trillion dollars today. http://www.toptips.com/debtclock.html

4) The highest ever trade deficit that is growing despite the lowest value for the dollars in more than 10 years. Simply because the Chinese laborers are able to produce goods at a lot cheaper wages than our overpaid and overfed labor force and still save 40 percent of their wages.<1>

5) The tax breaks that you promised us grateful Americans who voted you in office in order to extend the tax deductions that you bestowed on us during your first term. This is despite the fact that the government could not afford it and had to borrow money to finance such tax deductions.

6) Drop in sales tax revenue on the state and city levels thus forcing reduction of services and degradation of infrastructure such as bridges, roads and hospitals.

7) High unemployment and hidden employment due to the outsourcing of jobs to China and India.

8) The inability of the armed forces to meet its recruitment quotas and forcing the reserves to extend the tour of duty to grumbling young men and women. In addition to the cost of hiring private contractors to do the work that cheap black, Latino and minority troops can do.

9) A dramatic increase in Veterans Administration spending on medical benefits for retired military personnel from the Korean War, Vietnam War and Gulf War I.

10) The housing crisis that is forcing the government to spend hard earned tax money of providing shelter to undeserving low- income blacks and Latinos.

Ok, I will stop right here since I know that you do not like to hear bad news and that is why you do not watch television and you depend on Dick Cheney to give you a summary of the rosy picture of the state of our nation. My proposal is very simple and would not require legislation and between your leadership and the wisdom of our Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld it can be done with a little disinformation campaign. The disinformation campaign that your government was successful in executing to justify the war in Iraq and the so called War on Terror. The proposal is to draft the elderly who are over 65 years of age and know how to read and write. A General Education Diploma, GED will suffice and there will be no need for the burdensome high school diploma.

Why the draft and why the elderly? The answer if very simple and if you give me five minutes of your time, I will make you a believer. First, when you draft the elderly they will not have the energy to demonstrate or rally since hell, they need some one to hold on to in order to pee in the bathroom. The elderly cannot demonstrate since a lot of them are in wheel chairs and we can always have the police arrest them for blocking the traffic and disturbing the peace just like the New York City Police Department and the Austin Police Department did to the anti war demonstrators. Those bastards. Only if they knew of your grand plans for Iraq, the so called Middle East and the flourishing economy.

Secondly, the young men and women in America would love the idea of drafting the elderly because that will mean that they do not have to serve in the armed forces and go to Iraq. Also, this will mean increasing their chances on putting hands on the inheritance they have been waiting for and can hardly wait for their parents and grandparents to kick the bucket. I will wager you that the day you declare the draft for the elderly, you will poll rating will be the highest ever and the highest ratings of any president in the history of the United States.

Now, what will this executive order do to your plans for the economy, the war in Iraq and the possibility of your running for office in 2008. Yes in 2008 jus bear with me.

1) The social security benefits will not be necessary as the elderly will be receiving stipends as recruits. Our rubber stamp Republican Congress, just like the Saddam era parliament will pass legislation that will ensure that the elderly cannot receive draft time stipends and social security benefits at the same time. The positive impact of reducing the social security payments on the budget is about 20 percent of our federal budget or about 450 billion dollars a year. http://encarta.msn.com/media_461566684/U_S_Governm...

2) The Medicare cost of 1.5 trillion dollars for the next ten years will not be necessary http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/782023... . The money can then be used to show a surplus, buy more weapons and may be start a new war. As for the savings from Medicaid, the annual spending of about 825 billion dollars will not be necessary as the elderly will be receiving the medical services of the troops in Iraq by using wooden cardboard boxes for beds. They will not be able to complain because they will be afraid of being labeled traitors who are aiding the terrorists. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A28252-20...

3) The federal deficit will not be an issue any more since the annual deficit of 500 billion dollars will be covered with the savings in social security spending, cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. As a matter of fact, the total spending on these 3 large spending program is about 900 billion dollars annually which means you will actually end up with a surplus that will dwarf the surpluses of the guy before you who abused Monica Lewinsky sexually. With such a surplus you will see tens of millions of people on the street demonstrating to demand the amendment of the constitution to allow you to run for at third term. Demonstrations that will let those damn communists and hippies who demonstrated against your wise decision to liberate Iraq cry in shame. The surplus can be used to modernize our military and prepare for your great vision of liberating Iran and Syria and expanding the values of our great democracy

4) The trade deficit will not be an issue since the draft and the eventual demise of the old farts will lead to new economic realities. We are going to send the elderly to Iraq to fight and get killed which will allow our young people to put their hands of more than 8 trillion dollars in personal wealth of the total 11 trillion personal wealth in the United States. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/98pwart.pdf
If I know our young people well, they will go out and spend it and buy goods and services inside the country and stimulate the local economies. Bars and restaurants will be doing booming business which will generate domestic economic activity that will rock the pants of those girliemen Democrats. The people of the world will regain confidence in our economy and start pouring their savings here which will eliminate the departure from the dollar and the reduction in the trade deficit.

5) The tax breaks will be affordable now with the budget surpluses and would not be even probably necessary as the young people of the United States will be spending their inheritance and enjoying wealth like they have never had money before. Besides, the government will receive taxes on the distributed wealth that will even increase the budget surpluses by hundreds of billions of dollars.

6) The spending by our young people of more than 6 trillion dollars in wealth and the multiplier effects of such wealth will increase sales tax revenues for the states. New sales tax receipts will allow our local governments to build more bridges and highways to enable our young people to drive their SUVs and Hummers purchased with their new acquired wealth. There will be no need for building new hospitals as the elderly will be dead and gone and medical services will not be necessary. As a matter of fact, it could be an economic boon since funeral homes will be busy, lumber companies will be busy making coffins that the unemployment rate will drop so much, Congress might have to pass your great immigration bill. The bill that will allow cheap Mexican labor to come and work in the United States so our companies do not have to pay higher minimum wage, social security or health benefits.

7) The new wealth and the way our young people will spend it surely will create the jobs that our economy will need to reduce unemployment. We might even have to open training schools in order to make sure that we have enough specialists to pierce tattoos, stick needles to draw tattoos and teach the latest combinations of mixing alcohol to our descendants. Unemployment will be a thing of the past and will require Congress to pass laws to allow new laborers to come and work in the United States by the millions. I guarantee it just like president Nixon removed the gold standard from backing the dollar and backed it with confidence in the great American people.

8) The drafting of the elderly will put to rest once and for all the problem of finding recruits for our armed forces since any man or woman who turn 65 years of age will be drafted. They will be drafted into the army when they walk in the social security office to apply for benefits or they will be collected from the addresses on the envelopes that they applied for benefits from by federal marshals. Our Congress will make sure to rubber stamp laws to impose sanctions on any nation, Canada or otherwise, that will grant refuge for any absconding rascals.

9) The Veterans Administration will be shut down since all the individuals it is serving now will be in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, France and any nation that dares oppose your wise leadership. The leadership that does not make mistakes and so foolproof that 59 million Americans voted for you in the latest landslide election.

10) The housing crises for the poor in the country will be resolved as many of them will have inherited the homes of their elderly parents and grandparents. Black and Latinos will be employed now since the booming service economy will require many more butlers, cooks, drivers and hotel maids with good tips. The young people will be traveling so much spending their newly acquired wealth that housing might be a thing of the past. Just like our moral values.

Mr. President,
I hope I did not intrude on your privacy very much since I know that you do not like long burdensome readings on policy and administration. However, I trust that your aides who were instructed not to allow the secret service look you in the eye, the day of the inauguration will brief you on this important document. This policy that can be implemented through an executive order since Congress will not be required and since you are in your second term, you will not have to worry about votes of the elderly. Even if the constitution is amended due to your great successes and you want to run again, with Diebold voting machines and Clear Channels radio stations to push your agenda to the public, who needs campaigning and polls anymore. Who needs elections to that matter. The Jewish vote will not be necessary or influential any more since most of the elderly in Florida and California are Jewish and will be happily defending our great nation in Iraq.

God bless George Bush, the great president of the United States. God bless his wise leadership and may he live to serve us 12 more years. Hail to the Chief.

Riad Hamad
Austin, Texas.

other than I'm sorry, Tinoire. It's tragic and frightening at the same time. I'm just speechless right now.

but he cared so much that he'd sleep in his car when he drove to protests rather than spend the money on hotel rooms because he said the kids in the refugee camps needed the money more :(

How often do we run across people like that in this world? It's definitely stunning and tragic. We won't let him be forgotten.

Riad Hamad is a non-violent activist in Austin, Texas. He holds multiple Master's degrees and has never been arrested. He is now under surveillance by the FBI because he organized the shipment of books to Palestinian children. He speaks about the impact FBI attacks have had on his family, his freedoms, and his perception of America.

Mobile-Eyes: Resisting War and Repression
An Interview with Riad Hamad
Producer: FSTV
Length: 19m 46s

http://www.freespeech.org/fscm2/contentviewer.php?...

Infuckingcredible!

:mad:

http://www.kvue.com/news/mmcguire/stories/041708kv...

APD Sgt. Joseph Chacon said they have not ruled out foul play, but they believe that Hamad, who is a peaceful activist for Palestinian causes, may have committed suicide. They do not believe his activism was related to his death.

Police say Hamad was seen walking from his car to the shoreline of Lady Bird Lake alone just before he was reported missing. Family members said Hamad was dealing with intense pressure and had been experiencing suicidal thoughts. His vehicle was found on the south shoreline.

In a statement to the media, representatives said his family and friends are devastated by their loss. They said Hamad had been an AISD educator for 10 years and that he was pursuing a graduate level degree in educational technology.

"He was a peace activist who worked tirelessly on behalf of those less fortunate than him and was loved and admired by many members of the local, as well as international community," the statement said.

<snip>

Hamad is originally from Lebanon and attended the University of Texas at Austin.

Among his causes was the Palestinian Children's Welfare Fund. Friends say he was under surveillance by the FBI.

"I do know for a fact that the FBI did go through his house a couple of times," said Sara Fulton.

The FBI would only say that "he was a person of interest at one time, but we cannot comment on any investigations into Riad Hamad."

"There were extreme stressers in Mr. Hamad's life. We've spoken to several people who knew him including family and they expressed that he was feeling suicidal," Chacon said.

APD also admits someone binding their own body parts is unusual, but they say it does happen.

The official cause of Hamad's death has not been released.

I felt like someone kicked me in the stomach, and I don't even know your friend.

So much hate...

I can't even imagine what his family is going through now.

He was very courageous but he knew about the hate. He'd been expecting them to come after him for a while :( but refused to back down. Hate can't win. Most people have decent consciences if you approach them the right way which is Riad was considered a danger.
The FBI's charges were money laundering and wire fraud. Basically what that means is he wired money to Palestine and sent money to Palestine using an intermediary. Jeez so the bastards went after him. They kicked us all in the stomach.

The War on Arabs and Muslims in Iraq, worth every penny of it

To The Editor,
I sit here and read the news about the stock markets around the world and the turmoil due to the declining value of the dollar and the economy of the United States. A three trillion dollar war to fight Arabs and Muslim for Israel to implement its racist policies, expand settlements and to set up a proxy empire in the Arab world. It is worth every penny of it and hope that voters and tax payers in the United States enjoy every minute of it. Who cares about social security, health care and the educational system? Who cares about dying Palestinian and Iraqi children? Israel First. I know that I am ecstatic.

Riad Elsolh Hamad
Austin, Texas

http://blog.myslantedview.org/2008/03/21/the-war-o...

I'm so sorry to hear this. There are really no words.

I like to think someone will suffer consequences for this, either in this life or the next.

I'm not sure how it will work but I do believe in karmic justice- either in this life or the next. This is when words simply fail. I'm at a loss for what to say to his family during this tragic time.

http://www.youtube.com/v/Y1RAOdkMojQ&hl=en

I didn't know Riad, but from what Tinoire and Eileen have said his life was about doing good and having fun doing it.

Seems to me the best way to disempower what is wrong and to empower what is right is to feed nutrients to the good in life, which in this case is to give power back by making donations in Riad's name and to the Palestinian's Children's fund.

I would think that would put a smile on Riad's face.

http://www.pcrf.net/first.html

Here's Riad's site: http://www.pcwf.org/ There are other people working with it so donations are appreciated. I don't know the site you linked but I read last night they were being harrassed too. It's getting pretty systemic. The criminal coercion is to isolate Gaza. Thanks for the link DB, they need support too.

Looking through his site, it is hard to choose a child there are so many sad stories. Riad is a hero. RIP friend.

Wherever he is, I think Riad must be smiling because judging by all the e-mails I've been getting, people aren't go to let this murder be forgotten and it's making Americans who are committed, more committed than ever now.

As soon as I get confirmation, I'll let everyone know. Thanks for dropping in Shance. I've missed you.

Donations to the Palestinian Chidlren's Welfare Fund

To subscribe to the automatic monthly billing feature to facilitate monthly-based payments click here.

Or, click on the button below and make a one-time only payment through PayPal's secure servers.


Button: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow...

If you do not wish to pay online, you may send a money order or check to:


Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund
201 W. Stassney # 201
Austin, Texas 78745
Telephone: (512) 779-6115

http://www.pcwf.org/childrenfun.php

---

Radio Tribute to Riad at Midnight April 21 EST

*Clearwater Florida station WTAN 1340 AM
STREAM @
http://www.tantalk1340.com/
http://www.radiobullseye.com/
http://www.mortyscabin.net/

You can call in Midnight EST 866-826-1340 and say something about Riad as first 15 minutes is testimonial to him

They will lead with a testimony to Riad and PCWF. The host will bring in a tapestry made by the "terrorist women in Hebron" which is priceless as Riad gave it as a gift and will auction it on the air for PCWF -

PLZ Call in @ MIDNIGHT EST if you can say few words about Riad/PCWF : 866-826-1340


Mordecai Vanunu be on at around 12:20 AM EST with Johnny 2 of *RADIO BULLS EYE

Mordecai Vanunu is a famous Israeli nuclear whistleblower who spent 18 years in solitary confinement because he dared to listen to the voice of his conscience and inform the world that Israel was nuclear in 1986. The interview is also an exclusive and a direct challenge to the Israeli Government which has forbidden Vanunu the right to speak to foreigners in this their 60th year of statehood that was contingent upon their upholding of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights which they've consistently violated in Vanunu's case.

so far very funny but no Eileen or Vanunu.

Probably after the introductional dialog.

It's a funny show though - never heard it before.

chasing my chickens into their coop :( Did you catch the beginning?

The music is great though.

Have I missed them?

xoxo

And most Americans have no idea what their government is capable of. :(

It's chilling. But that was the whole idea. To strike fear into people's hearts. They won't win.

Jones has interviewed the local Muslim doctor (not sure what kind of doctor) who received and washed Riad's body.

It should be available on podcast later today, it would be the Tuesday 4-22-2008 show.

Podcasts here

http://xml.nfowars.net/Alex.rss

it's from 4-22-08, haven't listened to it yet so i don't know if the doctor you mention is interviewed;

"...Alex also talks with Dr. Ibrahim Dremali, Director of Islamic Center of Greater Austin, about the “suicide” of Riad Hamad."

http://info.t1production.com/
http://info.t1production.com/20080422_tue_alexmp3
http://info.t1production.com/alexjonesshow/2008042...

on edit:
Some is mentioned about the Riad case at the start of the program, the item starts at 35 min.

Ibrahim Dremali says there are signs of torture on Riad's body; stomach area cut open, guts laying out, head opened up, brain missing.
Ibrahim Dremali is the person who washed the body of Riad, following Muslim tradition.

Committed and joyful for every little bit he could do. Riad dancing :)

I had been corresponding with Riad concerning material that he had sent me. I recieved a very generous gift from him on March 31st. I cannot find the words to express the grief I have for my new friend. I had also sent him a donation for the children's fund along with some pictures my children had drawn to express their feeling for the crimes being commited against the Palestinian people.

This is a very sad day for me as I am sure it is for all of you who knew him. I join you in your grief. The bigger picture however is that each of us that hold these convictions in our hearts about the treatment of other human beings may well one day follow in the footsteps of our friend. In the letter from my oldest daughter to the children she wrote, " I wish you could be here where it is safe." For some reason she erased it and wrote something else. I have to wonder how much longer it will be safe even here in America.

I sent Riad 2 money orders that I have checked their status and they have not been cashed. If anyone can help me find out whether the money is in the possession of PCWF or not it would greatly help. If it is not I will start the process of trying to get the money back so I can get it to the people it was intended to help.

To all of you who had the pleasure of knowing him and having him as a friend, my deepest and most sincere condolences and symapthy.

James B.

It's a sad time to meet but welcome to PI. The foundation is still open. I'm not sure who exactly is going to be heading it but I spoke with one of Riad's closest friends recently and he told me it's going to continue with the good works. If you want, e-mail me your inquiry and I'll pass it on to him with your e-mail address so he can answer you directly.

Thank you for your condolences, kind message and committment to those poor children. We all share this sadness with you. Please visit our RafahToday forum too. Peace

gc

:cry:

Thank you gc

If not the neocons, then the letter to the devil got him killed.
Speaking truth to power can wind up in death with this bunch in charge.

A Justice system would be a good start.
:cry:
:terrified:

And how many people really believe that people committing suicide duct tape themselves FIRST?

What does this mean? Are you saying that anyone is being banned?

He cared for children, and, when he helped the children, he made the world such a better place.

May he rest in peace, and enjoy the Great Beyond.

What gets me is the in-your-face official lies re suicide;

Isn't the very fact that according to officials it is NOT "obvious", "likely", "probable" nor "apparent" that he wrapped himself in duct tape, an indication -a rather strong indication- that foul play was involved?

Me too.
Here is the latest from a local Austin station.

http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/050108kvueHam...

and how do you mean "me to"? After all i did not say that i find "it" hard to believe. Maybe you misplaced your reply?

Do you find it hard to believe foul play was involved?

re the article you linked;
I think Riad being framed for embezzlement fits perfectly with a pattern of foul play.

The reply is not directed at you, I suppose I should have put the reply in the top thread.

If you listen to the interview or read the transcript Larudee says, "I have no direct knowledge of any of that, but I just find it extremely hard to believe," and I am agreeing with Laurdee when I say "me too".

The official presumption of suicide is the last thing I would think. So far we don't even know if he actually drowned.

Memorial for Riad Hamad

http://tinyurl.com/4kjrek

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories...

Memorial service for Palestinian activist reveals more layers
Family, friends remember activist and teacher

By Eileen E. Flynn
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, May 11, 2008

Ever since Riad Hamad's body was found bound in Lady Bird Lake last month, the Palestinian activist whose charity was being investigated by the FBI has been either glorified on the Web as a martyr for the cause or vilified as a leftist zealot who intentionally staged a suspicious suicide. The picture that emerged at Hamad's memorial service Saturday reflected a far more complex man who was at turns goofy, passionate, mischievous, abrasive and loving but whose final weeks were marked by agitation and fear.

Dozens of Hamad's family, friends and co-workers gathered at St. James' Episcopal Church on Webberville Road on a hot afternoon to share memories and photos and pledge to continue helping Palestinian children through the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund that Hamad ran. A few people wore kaffiyehs, the checkered Palestinian scarf, and spoke strongly against the Israeli government.

But the service explored many facets of Hamad's personality and steered clear of the conspiracy theories surrounding his death that have grown on pro-Palestinian Web sites and e-mail strings since Hamad's body was found April 16. Already known internationally for his relief work, in death, Hamad has become a global cause célèbre among those who supported his cause.

On Saturday, mourners paid tribute to the father who would sign e-mails "always remember daddy loves you" to his two adult children, Rita and Abdullah. The Clint Small Jr. Middle School technology teacher who teased boys with long hair by calling them hippies. The chef who loved to whip up babaghanouj and baklava for his friends. The man who would sacrifice his comfort to help others, sometimes forgoing a hotel and sleeping in his car to save money for Palestinian children.

Hamad's widow, Diana HajAli Hamad, a petite woman in a long maroon tunic with gold trimming, recalled their courtship in Beirut, Lebanon, almost 30 years ago. Every time they dined at their favorite cafe, she said, Riad would hand her the bill just to annoy the male chauvinist waiter. Twenty years ago, Riad persuaded her to move to Austin, the city he fell in love with as a University of Texas student.

:cry:

Words used to support the suicide theory:
1. distress (turns out this was over a possible missed university assignment deadline)
2. anguish, tormented (turns out this was over being labelled a terrorist for helping children)
3. lingering suspicions and pressure...took a toll (from a friend who in no way implied that this would lead to suicide, but by giving this a paragraph of its own, the writer implies that this led to suicide)
4. family members...said he'd been showing suicidal tendencies (But his brother-in-law said they had never said that, so that key statement in all the news reports was clearly a lie)

Credible person introduced to support the suicide theory: Paul Larudee, friend and ISM peace activist
5. "He felt ... (federal authorities) were closing in on him," (implying guilt and a reason for suicide)
6. Larudee believes he was the last person to speak to Hamad before he died. His position, he said, is that Hamad "did take his own life (how on earth could Larudee come to such a conclusion before the police investigation was complete?)

Some interesting experience in Larudee the piano tuner's background
- supervisor of a Ford Foundation project
- Fulbright-Hays lecturer to Lebanon
- contract U.S. government advisor to Saudi Arabia.
see end of article: http://www.counterpunch.org/larudee08082006.html

Rough cut from yellow pad.

By Greg Moses

On the way to the St. James Episcopal Church of Austin Texas, the bus is
happy to drop you into knee-high grasses and wildflowers along East Martin
Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, treating you to an unexpected nature walk.
Yellow, white, purple, and brown blooms all smile up toward the sun which
has not yet turned into the summer harshness that burns even the breeze into
hiding.

Then, across the overgrown sidewalk along Webberville Road scurry creatures
so tiny and fast they leave only traces behind. A magic tangle of cedar and
mesquite whispers invitations to bow your head and step inside. But the caw,
caw, caw of something overhead brings your eyes up to a pair of crows
nipping in mid-flight at a passing hawk.

So it is a delightful revelation when you walk into the St. James sanctuary
to see that two of its walls have been given over to glass, and you don't
have to leave behind the marvelous green thicket of this wild Texas oasis as
you pick your seat upon a wooden pew.

Separating the converging glass walls is an altar with three crosses coming
down. The highest cross is imaged upon a red tapestry, broad enough to hold
an image of the world projected upon a scallop shell. Next cross down is
thin, brown, and wooden, suspended by cables. And then supported from the
ground up by a brass post is the third cross, in brass. Heaven to earth,
global to local. Trinity applied. Three, two, one.
***

The hour is still a bit early for the program, so the women are testing the
microphones. Rita Hamad and her mother Diana HajAli satisfy themselves that
the sound will carry vibrantly through the modest sanctuary, and later the
audience of 300 (way more than the "dozens" reported by the establishment
press of Austin) will quickly demand that speakers use their microphone
well, because nobody wants to miss a word.

"Okay, I'll use my teacher's voice," is what Mark Kelly will say to the
audience after he has been demanded to speak up. "I was in class the other
day helping a student when a small noise caused me to look up unexpectedly.
And I found myself explaining to the student: 'I thought that was Mr.
Hamad.' I had to look back. I expected to see him there."

From the flow of tears in this sanctuary and from the punctuations of
laughter at funny memories, you can feel how the absence of Riad Hamad has
been transformed into presence. "There has been some speculation about the
circumstances of Riad's death," acknowledges Mr. Kelly. "But that's not what
we're here for." What we're here for is a celebration of Riad Hamad's life.

Retired Episcopal Priest Edward M Hartwell, for instance, recalls that when
he first met Riad Hamad at a rally opposed to the occupation of Palestine,
"I knew I wanted to know him better." The audience chuckles at that. Soon
enough, Rev. Hartwell and Riad Hamad were planning another rally in support
of the Palestinian cause.

"Riad had a relentless commitment to the freedom of the Palestinian people,
and his humanitarian work to help the children of Palestine was some of the
most creative and effective work that I know of," said Rev. Hartwell. "Day
in and day out, there was always something going on."

Two bumper stickers that Riad gave to Rev. Hartwell seemed to sum up the
spirit and humor of the man. The first one said, "God loves everyone, no
exceptions." And the second one said, "When Jesus said love your enemies, I
think he meant don't kill them." The laughter grows a little louder this
time.

Riad loved gatherings like this, says Rev. Hartwell, and he would come often
to places where Christian, Jewish, and Islamic peoples would join voices in
prophetic support for protest against abuses of power, wherever and whenever
they occur. "Wherever and whenever," repeats Rev. Hartwell. "Wherever and
whenever."

As he reflects upon Riad Hamad's legendary generosity and hospitality, Rev.
Hartwell draws connections to the "law of hospitality" that he experienced
in travels across the Arab world, whether at an oasis in the Nubian Desert,
a Bedouin Camp near the Gulf of Aucuba, a community of Egyptian Christians,
or among Palestinians at Ramallah, in Palestine.

"On his last visit to our home, Riad was in a hurry, as usual." The audience
chuckles. "He was practically out the door, when I called him back. I said I
need hug. And I told him that we love you."

We stand up for Rev. Hartwell's opening prayer, to the Creator of All that
Is, witnessing to Riad Hamad's obedience to the Prophet's call to give
assistance to the oppressed, and testifying to his character, and life, and
inspiration. As we sit back down, we are joined by new arrivals.

"Assalam Alaikum," says Immam and Director of the Islamic Center of Greater
Austin, Sheikh Mohammad-Umer Esmail. "Riad Hamad is here in my heart and I'm
sure in the hearts of others." Immam Mohammad thanks hosts and presents glad
tidings to the audience, reminding them what the Prophet said upon news of
the death of his granddaughter. "Only to God belongs what he has taken."

For recollection of Riad Hamad's life, Immam Mohammad turns to a testimonial
posted at the website of the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund (pcwf.org),
the charity that Riad founded:

"As beautiful a human being as I have ever met . . . His charisma, energy,
and positive outlook were contagious. He loved the children of Palestine and
worked tirelessly on their behalf. . . . He would rather sleep in his car
than pay for a hotel room so that he could save the money and send it to the
children of Palestine . . . It was never about him, only the children of
Palestine."

***

Tears are falling all around me as even grown men daub their eyes and sniff
back the heartbreak that is wanting to cry out loud. Mercifully, the Immam
lightens the mood.

"This one section here about sleeping in the car, never about him, only
about the children of Palestine," the Immam shuffles his papers at the
lectern, looks down, looks up. "Me, I'd sleep in a hotel." The audience
seizes the chance to laugh out loud. "I can't sleep in a car." More laughs.
"I'd be too afraid, and I'd be awake all night." The Immam's deadpan hits
the right spot.

"The best things that a man leaves behind after his death are three," says
the Immam, paraphrasing the Prophet. "First, he leaves behind virtuous
children who pray for him; second, he leaves behind the charity he gave, the
reward of which reaches him; and finally, he leaves behind a knowledge which
people benefited from."

"You all know my Dad," says Rita Hamad, the first child to speak today.
"Some of you know him as RYE-ad," she declaims in playful Texan drawl,
getting everyone to laughing again. Rita called him Daddy, or Baba,
occasionally Babu to remind him of the way she would baby talk, or the
Bestest Daddy in the Whole Wide World, especially when she was working on
asking for something special.

Nor is Rita Hamad here to apologize for manipulating her father all those
years, because after all, he could be a difficult person to live with. Like
the time he ended up as a substitute teacher for her class and spent the
whole hour pretending that he, her father, was illiterate! Since he couldn't
read the attendance chart himself, he got a student to do that for him. And
since he couldn't write his name on the board he got another student to do
that, too. Then, since he couldn't read the lesson plan, he had to get
another student to read the whole thing out loud. Ohmagod daddy, when is
enough enough? Finally, he took some time to explain how he and his daughter
Rita rode to school on a camel and how he was looking forward to Rita
marrying her cousin, just as soon as she turned 13. Little snickers in the
sanctuary had turned into full blown howls of laughter by this time, sending
little creatures scurrying for ground cover all around our sun-lit oasis.

After a few more of these delightful daddy tales, Rita Hamad says that she
learned from her Babu "what it truly means to be proud of being different
and to reach out and help others." And since this Harvard and Berkeley grad
knows only one large and outlandish side of her father, she is requesting
that memories be emailed to her for the bestest compilation in the whole
wide world.

***

"It's good for people to know a one-of-a-kind person in life," said Nina
Glasgow. "And Riad Hamad was larger than life." Right from the start, Riad
struck you as a character who sure talked a lot (twinkles of laughter at
that), who made the best baba ghanoush in Austin, and who deployed food as a
political tool. His car was plastered with end-the-occupation bumper
stickers. He wore pink shirts because he said he was getting in touch with
his feminine side. And he was a terrific belly dancer, the best in Austin.

Glasgow watched him with children, putting himself on an equal footing with
them, encouraging them to set the pace of play, and urging them over the
challenges they encountered. Then there was his commitment to the children
of Palestine. "He was not a small star," declared Glasgow. "He was a big
star."

Riad's brother, Omar Farouk Hamad, has also dedicated his life to teaching,
matching his brother's enthusiasm for lifelong learning by also earning
three Master's degrees. After Riad's burial, Omar visited the school where
Riad used to teach. There he found students who, thanks to Riad's influence,
were dedicating their weekends to volunteer service.

Omar has been a revered family name since 1916 when the occupying Ottoman
Turks hanged a Lebanese patriot by that name. Martyr's Day is still a
national holiday in Lebanon on May 6 to celebrate the courage shown by great
uncle Omar and others, who were rounded up, brutally tortured and hung,
because they dared to argue against occupation.

Growing up, Riad's brother idolized Mohammad Ali as a role model. "He had a
big mouth, but I loved him," says Omar. The heavyweight fighter was an icon
for freedom of speech. And since his brother was always joking about
four-letter words, Omar has two of them to share with the audience today:
h-e-r-o and R-i-a-d.

***

Fellow teacher Mark Kelly recalls entering Riad's classroom, the one with
the sign outside that reads Marhaba (the Arabic word for welcome): come on
in. All Mr. Kelly heard in that classroom was the sound of students typing
away at their keyboards. Well, there was another sound. The voice of Mr.
Hamad: "Sit up straight. Keep typing. Young woman I told you to not to
talk." After classes changed, Mr. Hamad would bark out: "Get out of my
hallway. Go to class!" Occasionally he would hand a student a dollar bill
and tell him to get a haircut. Because he was a total character, the
students loved the man.

"Was Riad Hamad an activist?" asked Mr. Kelly. "He got up and acted. He did
something. He took action. And because he did these things he was labeled
and suffered from the defamation of being called a terrorist."

"What have I done?" Mr. Hamad would ask Mr. Kelly. "I don't do drugs, I
don't drink, I don't smoke. What have I done?"

"What Riad did was organize a foundation to send technology and educational
support to the children of Palestine. He worked with people who were sitting
at home in Palestine making crafts from olive wood or mother of pearl and
offered them a fair price. He would buy their crafts cheap, sell them over
here, and send most of the profits back.

One summer, Riad Hamad sent Mark Kelly to Palestine to teach. At the
University of Bethlehem and at a nearby French Catholic School, Mr. Kelly
made himself useful teaching whatever the students needed to learn, whether
it was how to use Photoshop or how to write news reports that were less
biased, more objective. At the home where he stayed, Mr. Kelly met a doctor
that Riad Hamad had sent to provide medical care to the children.

"Why did Riad Hamad really send me?," asked Mark Kelly. "I believe he just
wanted a witness to come back and tell you what I saw. I don't know how many
people just said to me, tell them what you saw. What I saw was people
laughing. I saw people loving one another. I saw people rejoicing. Ideas of
what Arabs are like have been so skewed by the media. I saw people who sang
late into the night and who danced."

Five months ago, Riad Hamad posted a nine-minute video at You Tube featuring
a Palestinian artisan making Holy Land figurines of olive wood. After
cutting the rough figures, the carver sets them aside for two years to
"cure" before finishing. If he tries to finish them early, he explains, they
will crack. He learned his craft by watching his father carve
mother-of-pearl, just as his son is learning today, standing behind his
father. Another video displays the wares of embroidery stitchers. Here, too,
the children get into the act.

"The reason why Riad passed out the little craft works from Palestine is
that he wanted to draw attention to this cause that he was so passionate
about," explains Mr. Kelly. "And I can understand why he became so
frustrated and pessimistic. He wanted to relieve the suffering that was
caused by a brutal system. Weeks before his death he was agitated. I can
only hope he is at peace now." Applause follows Mr. Kelly back to his seat.

***

Jack Prince coordinates the Interfaith Community for Palestinian Rights
(icpr-austin.org). Before speaking, he pauses. The audience comes to a
complete hush. Then the applause begins. He has just unfolded a Palestinian
scarf. As he drapes the scarf over his shoulders, the applause grows. Then,
with the house still murmuring in approval, he makes a little joke about how
Presbyterians have cushions on their pews, which draws some good-natured
laughter and causes people to wiggle just a little bit.

"Justice, Peace, and Prosperity" is what the ICPR wants for the Palestinian
people. "In our view," explains Jack Prince, "our fellow Americans are not
well informed on the issue. Yet only with right knowledge can come right
policies and right actions." As a contribution to this path of
enlightenment, a Saturday evening program has been scheduled on the topic of
al Nakba, "the catastrophe that began sixty years ago this month, on May 15,
1948, with efforts by Israel to drive out Palestinians from territories
allocated to Israel by the United Nations." The evening program would
include a silent auction, and the proceeds would be donated to the Palestine
Children's Welfare Fund, so that the work of Riad Hamad might continue.

Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, who would be the featured speaker at the evening's Nakba
presentation is up next to speak. He is the only Palestinian on the program
today and he gratefully places around his neck the scarf handed to him by
Jack Prince.

By now, the experience of getting acquainted with Riad Hamad has become a
thrice told tale, but it's still interesting to hear. First there is the
funny part about meeting the man and how he talks too much, he seems too
good to be true, but you'd like to get to know him better. Then there is the
part where you are living in Riad's world, talking to him in the kitchen or
taking his phone calls. He wants to know did you get the new batch of bumper
stickers? Yes, you got them. But at last there is the sad part. You talked
to him too briefly. You wish you had said more.

Dr. Qumsiyeh remembered Riad's impatience, how he was always going and
wanting to do things. He was passionate about the Palestinian cause, and
since 60 percent of Palestinians are younger than 18, he dedicated his
efforts to the children. In 2002, the year before Riad Hamad founded the
Palestine Children's Welfare Fund, 200 Palestinian children were killed,
hundreds more injured.

"He was kind of a practical in many ways. He said, 'let's do something,
here's something to do,' then he'd go do it. When my father died he sent me
a photo with a note that said 'we have planted a tree in Palestine for your
father.' "

"There is a passage from a famous sermon by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr.: 'On some positions, cowardice asks the question, is it expedient? And
then expedience comes along and asks the question, is it politic? Vanity
asks the question, is it popular? Conscience asks the question, is it right?
There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor
politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is
right.'

"This quote epitomizes Riad. The things he did were not safe, or popular, or
politic. He did them because they were right. He followed his conscience."
As Dr. Qumsiyeh thanks the Hamad family, his voice breaks momentarily. "Riad
would have wanted us to intensify our efforts. Humanity is better when we
expect it to be. Riad knew that. We tend to undervalue the good in most
people." Expect more. Do more. That's the way to respond to Riad's death.

***

Abdullah Hamad, Rita's little brother "who is getting his first degree"
speaks mostly through a slide show set to the music of fourteen audio
tracks. The audience especially laughs to slides from the 70s with Riad and
his puffed out 70s hair, popping up here and there to the tune of "Hard
Day's Night." Grins abound also when Riad is presented acting up with his
beloved babies to the tune of Randy Newman's "Short People." When Stevie
Wonder sings "I Just Called to Say I Love You" it looks like Riad Hamad's
family life is defined by tables full of food, surrounded by smiling people.
All of Riad's emails to Abdullah ended with a line that said, "always
remember Daddy loves you."

Before presenting the slide show from his laptop, Abdullah remembered his
father's advice to "Survive against all odds."

At this point, Lourdes Perez rises from her seat in the audience and carries
her guitar to the front, where she takes a seat facing the family. In a
quivering voice she jokes a little bit about how Riad Hamad complained
playfully about her rendering of Arabic. And the audience laughs at that.
Then without further adieu she fills the sanctuary with her ever magnificent
rendering of Unadikum / Te Llamo, the 2002 single in Arabic and Spanish that
she dedicated to the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund. (Note: to experience
the Arabic original, search for Onadikom at You Tube.) While she sings,
there is time to gaze at the green oasis outside, the three crosses inside,
the banner with the world on a scallop, and the puffy red rings around a
man's eyes as he daubs another tear from his face. Then Lourdes Perez
carries her guitar back into the audience and sits down.

***

The last scheduled speaker of the day will be Diana HajAli, "Soulmate" and
mother of Riad's children who will also recall the boundless energy that
Riad Hamad took everywhere he went, and who was in April handed a small
packet of Riad's things that contained a damp wallet that she opened to find
a Blue Cross insurance card and a one-dollar bill.

When Diana mentions the yellow camel tie that Riad loved so much, the
audience laughs in a way that says, yes, we've all seen that tie. She is
here today to celebrate the man of Liberality, Intellect, and Kindness who
tricked her into moving to Austin two decades ago, a trick that had come to
make sense in time. In Austin, Riad could until very recently exercise his
rights out in the open, not like the Cadillac rights, as Riad called them,
that many Americans kept parked in their garages, never taking them out to
enjoy.

Like Riad, Diana was a child of Beirut, Lebanon, not Palestine. And in
Beirut the young Riad was ever on the move. He once purchased a batch of
cheap lipstick which he marked up a little and sold on the street. At the
age of 17 he enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin and put himself
through school, first as a dishwasher, then eventually as manager of a 7-11.
Then he took work in Bahrain, but got bored. So one day he approached the
Japanese embassy and made a deal with the consul. If the consul would teach
him Japanese on Friday nights, Riad would cook the dinner.

At the age of 45, Riad was certified as a teacher and found a calling
teaching computer technology in a middle school, challenging everyone he
met, his students included, to think outside the box. Riad had an amazing
hunger for knowledge. When the FBI took all his computers in that February
raid, Riad was upset because the computers contained work that would cause
him to miss his professors' deadlines.

Diana HajAli first met Riad Hamad on the campus of the American University
in Beirut where she offered him a serving of tabouli on a lettuce boat. She
recalls the situation exactly, including the precise posture of her serving
hand, which she models for us all to see. You can see in her eyes how the
memory delights her still, especially when she recalls Riad's response:
"What do you think I am a rabbit serving me food on lettuce rather than on a
proper plate?"

Months later, when she next saw Riad, he was bandaged up. He had thrown
himself from a car. When he got into the car, he thought it was a Taxi, but
it turned out to be kidnappers who wanted to take his money, so he threw
himself out of the moving car.

They soon started dating, and when they went out to eat Riad loved to hand
Diana the check, only to deliberately offend the male chauvinist waiter.
Riad was often like that, always shattering stereotypes. On Feb. 21, 1981
they got married by a Beirut family court judge and Riad set to work at two
jobs to pay back the money he owed for the six months rent that was required
of newlyweds in advance.

Riad will never enjoy bouncing his grandchild on his knees or chirping like
a bird to make the child smile. He will not email me at work every day to
ask what I want him to cook for dinner. "In the house of the Lord I feel
that my heart has been ripped out of my chest." All the plans he made will
be left undone. The cats will all miss his cat lap and the feeling of his
big clumsy fingers.

"But most of all, no arbitrary or stupid rules will inhibit him from doing
whatever he wants to do whenever he wants to do it, and all at the same
time."

We rise to give Diana HajAli a standing ovation.

***

During the open mike session we get to hear that the Palestine Solidarity
Committee exceeded their fundraising goal and are able to present a check
for $1,300 to be donated to the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund. The
presenter today has known Riad Hamad since the day he made a presentation to
her fifth grade class. She was, of course, overwhelmed. In 2002 when the PSC
was organized, Riad became "kind of like a father, because whenever you need
something you can always turn to your Dad."

She recalls going to Riad's home to make a quick trip to pick up 20 t-shirts
but as soon as she walks in the door it's like you're hungry, here drink
some tea. Then an hour later you're walking out with the t-shirts and a box
of flags and some bumper stickers and you're thinking, "Oh my God, what did
I just commit to?"

***

The final testimonial is from a friend and customer who made the mistake of
going through boxes of merchandise with Riad in search of the one unique
item that she had in mind. By the time she was finished with that exercise,
she had bought everything she could afford. "Now it will be harder to give
them away. He was an example for me. I hope to live as much as possible in
his inspiration."

After a closing prayer, we exit to the tune of James Blunt's "Goodbye."

***

After shaking a few hands in the lobby, I turn towards the door and collide
with Immam Mohammed who has his hand on the shoulder of a little girl.
"Excuse me," he says. "I am just trying to gather the children."

***

Back out on Webberville road the six-lined racerunners are enjoying the
sidewalk, taking turns running in front of me, apparently for their sheer
amusement. One or two is missing a tail, having survived to run for at least
one more sunny day.

:cry:


Onadikom

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9gvbTPxhiHw

http://tinyurl.com/68wz4z

Riad Hamad: Medical Examiner's Report

Posted by editor on Thursday, July 31

By Greg Moses

The final report on Riad Elsolh Hamad was signed by the Travis County Medical Examiner on May 14, 2008. Death by drowning. Suicide.

The widely beloved teacher and founder of the Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund (pcwf.org) had gone missing on the evening of April 14. He telephoned Paul Larudee in California at about 7:30 Pacific Time (9:30 Central), and when Larudee told Hamad that a donation had arrived to the new address of the PCWF, Hamad said, "it doesn’t matter." His body was pulled from Lady Bird Lake at about 2 p.m. on April 16. From the viewpoint of the medical examiner on the morning of April 17, the body was "in a state of early decomposition characterized by marbling and maroon discoloration of the skin."

"The body is received with the wrists loosely bound in front of the body with a tan rubber telephone-type cord. One end of the cord is looped loosely once around the left wrist and arranged in a very loose knot. The cord is looped loosely three times around the right wrist, and then arranged in a very loose knot. The hands are separated by approximately 1 ½ foot of cord. The cord ligature is easily slipped off of both hands.

"The ankles are bound loosely by black rubber speaker-type cord. The cord is looped twice around each ankle. On the right ankle, the cord is looped over the surface of the skin. On the left ankle, the cord is looped over the surface of the pants. The ends of the cord are arranged in a loose knot in front of the ankle, medially. The loops around the ankles are loose enough to slip off of the body intact. The loops are separated by approximately 6 inches of cord between the ankles.

"Gray duct tape is wrapped neatly twice around the head just above the eyes, and leaves a blanched, slightly depressed band of imprint on the skin. The duct tape passes above the eyelids, and does not cover the eyes. The duct tape passes over the ears."

The term "atraumatic" appears several times to describe the body’s head, face, neck, and hands. No signs of strangulation. No drugs. The left ventricle of that once exuberant heart had grown thick with hypertension. There was a "history" -- notes the report -- "of recent depression and stress."

***

Reporters for the Oak Hill Gazette and the Austin Chronicle have told the story of Imams who reported "bruising" or "facial bruising" when the body was washed for burial. Imam Ibrahim Dremali found the post-autopsy condition of the body so offensive that he complained to officials, to his mosque, and to the press.

"I believe they were sending us a message," he said, "and that's what I told the people here , that they believe they do not have to respect the bodies of Muslims," said Imam Dremali to Austin Chronicle reporter Michael King.

In April, Imam Mohamed-Umer Esmail, of the North Austin Muslim Community Center, told Oak Hill Gazette reporter Ann Fowler, "Those that knew , their concern is why was the case closed so quickly? The investigation was made and they closed it really quickly, saying it was suicide."

***

Although Hamad’s advocacy in behalf of Palestinian children had attracted FBI attention for many years, his recent troubles began in November 2002 when a neighbor complained to the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI that packages were coming to Hamad from the West Bank of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Hamad was famous for carrying around boxes full of Palestinian crafts that he sold, or gave to friends to sell, as fundraising supplies. Of course, the government found no evidence of terrorism, but Hamad was apparently a tax resister and sloppy bookkeeper.

On the morning of Feb. 27, a team of federal agents entered his house and packed up at least 20 boxes of papers, books, and computer disks. In an email, Hamad estimated the number of boxes at 40. (If the government's own bookkeeping is to be believed, there is a box numbered 100. I personally suspect, however, that the record for box 100 is a result of sloppy bookkeeping on the part of the FBI.) Federal agents even took a David Rovics CD and a book that was resting on Hamad's piano entitled, "War on Freedom." Hamad immediately started looking for a lawyer.

In preparation for this article, the Texas Civil Rights review emailed a query to the Hamad family. A reply was forthcoming from the family attorney: "They are obviously still in the middle of the grieving process are not at a stage where they want to discuss any details regarding his death or the months leading up to it.. . . Thank you so much for respecting the family's privacy and for your understanding."

If I ask myself what Riad Hamad would ask me to say next, it is this: donations may be sent to the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund, 405 Vista Heights Rd., El Cerrito, CA 94530; 510-236-5338; or visit pcwf.org to access an online donation link.