Statuary Hall and the Inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama

Watching the inauguration coverage on ABC TV today, I learned something I didn't know. I had never heard of National Statuary Hall where the luncheon was held. Today I learned that it has held two statues for each state with people born in those states, so I decided to look up who represented Colorado.

1. Florence R. Sabin. She was born in Central City, Colorado, in 1871. She became the first woman to hold a full medical professorship in the United States, at Johns Hopskins, her alma mater, where she was also the first woman graduate. She is also famous for the "Sabin Health Laws" that modernized Colorado's public health system.

2. John Swigert - went by Jack. You may remember him as being portrayed by Kevin Bacon in the movie Apollo 13. Jack Swigert was one of 24 people in the world to have flown to the moon. He was elected to Congress but died of cancer before being sworn in. He was the first of the 24 to die, in 1982. In December 2008 John Swigert's statue was moved and displayed in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.

So who is in the Statuary Hall representing your state? (You can consider this a Meme and that you are tagged, if you wish.)

I watched the inauguration with my classes. Were I there, I would be overwhelmed by all the ritual and ceremony - too much going on for the sake of tradition, etc. - it would just make me tired.

A few things in his speech I liked:

"We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

I like that he pointed out the childishness of America and called on Americans to rise to higher ideals that we claim to hold but have not always lived up to. I like how he then called people to hard work to improve the situation we're in, noting that greatness is earned, not given, and that even though the task seems great, Americans and the rest of humanity have countless examples in their past of even greater accomplishments. This is one of Obama's strengths - as in the title of his book, he really does have the audacity to hope, and what is more, the will, energy, charisma, intelligence, and dedication to make things happen.

"To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect."

I am not sold on Obama's foreign policy, but I do expect it to be better than what we've had. And I think if he lives up to this call of mutual respect, that would be a great improvement over the current situation.

"This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny."

I appreciate his confidence because I think it is something the country could use right now. I also appreciate his faith, and his concept of accountability or responsibility in molding our individual destinies and our collective destiny. It doesn't just happen to us, we have some power and responsibility in making it.

I have a desire to be hopeful about this president, more so than any in my life so far. I think the cult of personality may be a bit overdone, but I still believe this could, God willing, be the beginning of better things to come. Time will tell.

Which Candidate Do You Really Prefer?

Take Harvard's Project Implicit Test to find out!

NAIVETY

I believed you were true,
I assumed good intentions -
Time and time again.

I forgave your hostility,
and pardoned your agenda -
Time and time again.

I judged you not,
While you judged harshly -
Time and time again.

I expected too much,
That you’d follow through -
Time and time again.

I took you at your word,
I thought the best of you -
Time and time again.

But

You proved me wrong,
You made me learn -
I shouldn’t be so naïve.

You showed me politics
Rule the world -
I shouldn’t be so naïve.

Your ego and weakness
Devoured your ethics -
I shouldn’t be so naïve.

You beat others down
To bring yourself up -
I shouldn’t be so naïve.

Your heart is coal
For all but you -
I shouldn’t be so naïve.

Yet

While you mire in the grease
Of your unctuous words,
I have hope and peace.

While you roil in the stew
Of your malicious mind,
I have hope and peace.

While you languish in agony
From your insatiable vengeance,
I have hope and peace.

While you connive for power
With disloyal conspirators,
I have hope and peace.

While you squander your future
For mirages and lies,
I have hope and peace.

And

I see the world through my mirror of light in spite of you,
Not through your hate-blackened lens that perceives all as being like you,
And I can see beautiful things you will never know.

You would like me to give in, to tire out, and to lose hope,
But I will ever pursue the ideal, the True, no matter what you do.
And I can see beautiful things
You
will
never
know.

AWOL Soldiers Reconsider Return to U.S.

By BRETT BARROUQUERE
Associated Press Writer



Kyle Snyder, AP Photo/BRIAN BOHANNON

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Since going to Canada to avoid another deployment to Iraq, Corey Glass has considered returning to the United States. But after hearing that a fellow former soldier who surrendered to the military and was ordered to return to his unit instead of being discharged, Glass may not return at all.

"They're not going to win the hearts and minds like that," said Glass, 24, who signed on with the Indiana National Guard in 2002.

Kyle Snyder, a one-time combat engineer who joined the military in 2003, disappeared Wednesday, a day after surrendering at Fort Knox and 18 months after fleeing to Vancouver instead of redeploying to Iraq.

Snyder, 23, of Colorado Springs, Colo., said a deal had been reached for a discharge, but he found out he would be returned to his unit at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

His troubles are complicating efforts for those among the 220 American soldiers who fled to Canada and want to return to the United States, according to lawyers, soldiers and anti-war activists.

"Nobody's going to come back from Canada anymore," said James Fennerty, a Chicago-based attorney who represents Snyder and other AWOL soldiers.

Several soldiers who went to Canada have said they don't want to return to Iraq. Sgt. Patrick Hart, who deserted the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based 101st Airborne Division in August 2005, a month before his second deployment, said he felt misled about the reasons for the war.

"How can I go over there if I don't believe in the cause? I still consider myself a soldier, but I can't do that," said Hart, a Buffalo, N.Y., native who served more than nine years in the military.

"The whole story behind it, it all feels like a big lie," Glass said. "I ain't fighting for no lie."

Fennerty said he reached a deal with the Army allowing Snyder, a private with the 94th Engineer Battalion, to receive an other-than-honorable discharge.

It's a deal similar to one Darrell Anderson, a 24-year-old Iraq war veteran, received in October. After three days at Fort Knox, Anderson, who has denounced the war as "illegal" and "immoral," was released to his family in Lexington, then discharged.

But Snyder ended up at a bus station in Louisville, with orders to go to St. Louis, then Fort Leonard Wood. Snyder, who said the brutality of what he saw happening to civilians in Iraq prompted him to desert, left with an anti-war activist instead of going back to the post.

Gini Sinclair, a Fort Knox spokeswoman, declined to address Snyder's case. But she said deserters who turn themselves in are automatically returned to their units if the unit is in the United States at the time of surrender. Once reunited with the unit, the commander there decides what becomes of the soldier, Sinclair said.

When a soldier surrenders at Fort Knox and is sent to his unit, he is either put on a plane or a bus, sometimes alone, she said.

"In some cases, they will be escorted," Sinclair said. "I don't know what decides if that happens."

That policy, and the question of whether an AWOL soldier can reach a deal that trumps it, is causing consternation among soldiers.

"After what they did to him, I don't see anybody going back," said Glass, a Fairmount, Ind., native who is currently in Toronto.

Some are seeking refugee status in Canada. Hart, who was joined in Toronto by his wife and their 3-year-old son, served time in Bosnia in the early 1990s, became a reserve, then went to Iraq after returning to active duty. The idea of returning to the United States is appealing to Hart, because he would like to see family and friends.

"I could see going back under some kind of amnesty program or something like that," Hart said. "But I don't trust them. My enemy isn't foreign now. It's domestic."

© 2006 The Associated Press.

Western Leadership

Well this weekend I was at the NEA Western Regional Leadership Conference in Denver. Plus, I got to do some night time geocaching with my friend Michelle - we had a blast!

Reg Weaver is the president of NEA, he gave a nice speech Friday night. This isn't exactly what he said but a small portion of it simplified a bit. It was fun and hopefully useful - that remains to be seen if we can put anything from the conference to good use.

Reg Weaver's Ten Commandments! You want public education to be great in this country? Then try following these:


Commandment Number One: Thou shalt not pretend to reform schools by passing some bogus Ten Commandments law that will most likely be declared unconstitutional.


Commandment Number Two: Thou shalt not say that children are America's top priority when 20 percent of America's children live in poverty, 15 percent have no health insurance, and 13 children are killed by gunfire every single day.


Commandment Number Three: Thou shalt recognize that only public education has the potential to provide each and every child in America with a quality education, and therefore, thou shalt not abandon public schools, but redeem and enhance them.


Commandment Number Four: Thou shalt not spend more money on prisons than on schools. The more quality schools you have, the fewer prisons you'll need.


Commandment Number Five: Thou shalt not kid thyself that paying starting teachers $20,000 a year is any way to attract and retain the best and the brightest educators for our kids. Thou shalt support future teachers - not insult them.


Commandment Number Six: Thou shalt respect every child as precious and capable of learning - regardless of their background - and treat them as the valuable natural resource that they are.


Commandment Number Seven: Thou shalt not bash teachers - especially when thou has not been in a classroom thyself for the last 35 years.


Commandment Number Eight: Thou shalt honor not only teachers, but the people who drive the buses, clean the hallways, serve the lunches, counsel the students, take the attendance, nurse the injured, assist in the classrooms, and run our nation's schools with dignity and dedication and grace.


Commandment Number Nine: Thou shalt recognize that quality education requires everybody in the education community to work together cooperatively - from retired teachers to new administrators to parents - and engage them accordingly.


And finally, Commandment Number Ten: Thou shalt remember that public education must always be an immediate priority and a long-term investment. Schools must not be subjected to quick fixes or get-rich-quick schemes.


And what the heck. Let me add an Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not determine a student's entire future by the results of a single ultra-high stakes test -- especially if that test is inherently flawed and unfair!


And a Twelfth Commandment! Why not? Commandment Number Twelve: Thou shalt not establish a whole new set of standards for schools without aligning them with the curriculum! Or, without aligning them with the tests! Or without any input from the teachers who are actually going to have to teach them! And thou shalt certainly not hold schools accountable to these standards without giving them the help and the resources they need to meet them!


Now those are Twelve Commandments that will make a truly extraordinary difference for children all across America!

If NCLB were applied to football...

Football Season - "No Child Left Behind"

The Federal government has announced that all high school football teams
must meet "No Child Left Behind" legislation beginning next season. The
following summation outlines the plan:

1. No team will be declared a winner, as that will leave 50% of other
participants behind.

2. All high schools will be divided into districts with eight teams per
district. Every team must finish in at least third place to be proficient.

3. No tournaments will be held as this would result in one champion. (The BCS experimented with this concept in NCAA D-1 football.)

4. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all will win the
championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on
probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held
accountable. (In a recent experiment, the University of Nebraska football
program modeled this theory.)

5. All teams must score at least 21 points, but no defense can allow more
than 7 points.

6. All participants will be expected to have the same football skills at
the same time and in the same conditions; no exceptions for interest in
football, desire in athletics, genetic abilities or disabilities... ALL
CHILDREN WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL!

7. Talented players will be asked to work out on their own without
instruction, because the coaches will be busy using all their instructional
time with the athletes that aren't interested in football, having limited
athletic ability, and whose parents don't like football.

8. Games will be played year-around, but statistics and records will only
be kept in the 4th, 8th, and 11th games.

9. This will create a NEW AGE of sports where every school is expected
to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal
goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.

Keys Handed Over

Militants Turn Over Keys to Najaf Shrine

By ABDUL HUSSEIN AL-OBEIDI (abridged)
Associated Press Writer

NAJAF, Iraq (AP) -- Thousands of pilgrims streamed into the Imam Ali Shrine on Friday, and militants who had been holed up in the site left it, handing the keys to Shiite religious authorities after Iraq's top Shiite cleric brokered a peace deal to end three weeks of fighting in this holy city.

Dozens of militants piled Kalashnikov rifles in front of the offices of their leader, radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Thousands of al-Sadr's militiamen were still believed to be armed in the city, though most were staying off the streets. In one narrow alley, some militiamen could be seen pushing carts full of machine-guns and rocket launchers.

Iraqi forces took control of the Old City, which al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia had used as their stronghold during the fierce fighting with U.S.-Iraqi forces.

Dozens of Iraqi police and national guardsmen deployed around the compound of the walled, golden-domed shrine in the Old City Friday afternoon - but did not enter. Some kissed the compound's gates, others burst into tears. Some residents of the devastated Old City neighborhood waved to them and yelled out, "Welcome. Welcome."

U.S. forces appeared to have maintained their positions in the Old City.

After a day of prayers and celebrations at the shrine - one of Shia Islam's holiest sites - civilians and fighters left, and al-Sadr's followers handed over the keys to the site to religious authorities loyal to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the esteemed cleric who secured the peace deal.

"Now the holy shrine compound has been evacuated and its keys have been handed over to the religious authority," al-Sistani aide Hamed al-Khafaf told Al-Arabiya television.

The handover the keys was a symbolic, yet crucial, step in ending the bloody crisis that has plagued this city since Aug. 5, killing hundreds of Iraqis and nine U.S. troops, ravaging parts of the Old City and threatening the control of Iraq's interim government.

Al-Sadr ordered his fighters to lay down their arms and leave Najaf and neighboring Kufa after agreeing to the peace deal in a face-to-face meeting the night before with al-Sistani.

"To all my brothers in Mahdi Army ... you should leave Kufa and Najaf without your weapons, along with the peaceful masses," al-Sadr said in a statement broadcast over the shrine's loudspeakers.

Iraq's interim government also accepted the deal, and U.S. forces ordered their troops to cease fire. Police briefly exchanged fire with militants in one part of town Friday, and some U.S. troops were still receiving occasional sniper fire. Nevertheless, most of the city was calm.

The agreement leaves the Mahdi Army intact and al-Sadr free, despite U.S. vows in the past to destroy the militia and arrest its leader. Since the transfer of sovereignty June 28, the Iraqi interim government has said it has no intention of arresting al-Sadr, but wants him to turn his militia into a political party.

Al-Sistani's highly publicized, 11th-hour peace mission also boosts his already high prestige in Iraq and cloaks him in a statesman's mantle, showing that only he could force an accord between two sides that loathe each other.

In the morning, thousands of Shiites marched through Najaf to visit the shrine, one of Shia Islam's holiest, which was at the center of the fighting since Aug. 5. Many kissed its doors as they entered, chanting "Thanks to God!"

U.S. soldiers looked on as people passed in the streets, heading to the shrine. Army 1st Lt. Chris Kent said the peace agreement "appears to be a final resolution. That's what it looks like right now."

Inside, the crowds mingled with Mahdi Army fighters and performed noon prayers. Afterwards, civilians and militiamen streamed out, with some militants chanting "Muqtada, Muqtada."

By the afternoon, the shrine appeared empty, clear of the visitors and the militants.

Police later set up roadblocks on the edge of the Old City, preventing people from entering and searching throngs of people leaving the shrine. Most of those leaving carried no weapons, but police detained four militants carrying grenades.

The U.S. military said it was continuing to monitor the situation and maintain "a supportive posture," according to a statement.

The five-point peace plan put forward by al-Sistani calls for Najaf and Kufa to be declared weapons-free cities, for all foreign forces to withdraw from Najaf, for police to be in charge of security, for the government to compensate those harmed by the fighting, and for a census to be taken to prepare for elections expected in the country by January.

There was no immediate word if the U.S. military would accept the provisions on the agreement calling on its forces to leave Najaf, though military leaders have said they were fighting there only at the behest of the government.

© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Woohoo!

Aide: Al-Sistani Brokers Najaf Peace Deal

By ABDUL HUSSEIN AL-OBEIDI
Associated Press Writer





NAJAF, Iraq (AP) -- Rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed Thursday to a peace deal presented by top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani to end three weeks of fighting in the holy city of Najaf, according to a top aide to al-Sistani.

Al-Sistani, the most influential cleric among Iraq's Shiite majority, reached the deal in direct talks with al-Sadr in the evening, only hours after making a dramatic return to Najaf.

The five-point plan called for Najaf and Kufa to be declared weapons-free cities, for all foreign forces to withdraw from Najaf, for police to be in charge of security, for the government to compensate those harmed by the fighting and for a census to be taken to prepare for elections expected in the country by January.

"Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr agreed to the initiative of his eminence al-Sistani," Hamed al-Khafaf told reporters at a news conference outside the house where al-Sistani was staying here. "You will hear good news soon from the government and Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr."

"It's the same initiative that we had proposed ... almost the same initiative has been agreed upon," al-Khafaf said.

Following the announcement, the Iraqi interim government called an emergency news conference in Baghdad to discuss Najaf.

Al-Sistani, who had been abroad in London for medical treatment during much of the fighting, returned Thursday with a new plan to end the violence.

The fighting, which has spread to other Shiite communities throughout Iraq, has killed scores of civilians, nearly paralyzed the city and caused the biggest crisis yet for the new government of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

A long-threatened government raid on the holy Imam Ali Shrine here, where the militants have sought refuge, appeared to grow increasingly likely in recent days as peace initiatives broke down and the militants refused to honor a promise to withdraw.

But al-Sistani's return, and his apparent determination to end the bloodshed in his city, brought new hope for a peaceful resolution.

"There will be a mechanism that will preserve the dignity of everyone in getting out of the holy shrine, and you'll see this in the coming hours," al-Khafaf told Al-Jazeera television.

The fighting here continued up until al-Sistani's arrival Thursday afternoon, when the government and rebels separately agreed to a 24-hour cease fire to give peace efforts a chance.

More than 90 people were killed in the 24 hours before al-Sistani's arrival, according to health officials, including 27 people killed when mortars hit the main mosque in nearby Kufa, where thousands had gathered in preparation to march to Najaf in support of al-Sistani.

The U.S. military and Iraqi government have backed al-Sistani's peace mission, but they have not said whether they would agree to his proposal. The government has long demanded that al-Sadr disband his Mahdi Army militia and join the country's political process, a condition al-Sadr has refused to agree to.

Al-Sadr has agreed to one other peace deal that fell apart and later said he would pull his followers from the shrine, but the militants remained and the fighting has continued.

But all sides appear to be hoping the immense authority of al-Sistani can keep a deal together. The 75-year-old al-Sistani, who has long refused to intervene directly in the standoff between al-Sadr and the United States, has much wider support among Iraq's Shiites than al-Sadr, a much younger and lower-ranking cleric.

Al-Sistani arrived here in a 30-vehicle convoy that drove in from Basra, cheered by thousands of supporters in towns along the way. Heeding al-Sistani's calls, thousands more came from their hometowns to Najaf and gathered on its outskirts.

Late Thursday, Al-Sistani asked the government to allow them in to visit the sealed-off shrine compound provided they leave again by 10 a.m. Friday, al-Khafaf said.

© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Al-Sistani's return and call for march causes for hope

Al-Sistani returns to Iraq



Wednesday 25 August 2004, 16:18 Makka Time, 13:18 GMT

 
Iraq's most influential Shia cleric, Grand Ayat Allah Ali al-Sistani, is in the southern city of Basra and will head to Najaf soon to try to resolve the crisis there, an aide says.  


Al-Sistani's return comes as US and Iraqi forces tightened their siege of Najaf's Imam Ali mosque, where supporters of Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr are holed up. 


"He has entered Iraq through Basra. He will head to Najaf tomorrow," Hamid al-Khafaf, an al-Sistani aide based in London, said on Wednesday.


Al-Khafaf called on Iraqis "to be ready … to march on the city of Najaf under the leadership of al-Sistani to save the city."


Iraq's most senior Shia Muslim figure, Iranian-born al-Sistani has returned from Britain where he had been treated for a heart condition. Al-Khafaf told Aljazeera that the Ayat Allah had overidden doctors' recommendations not to travel.


Initiative welcomed


Aides of al-Sadr, whose al-Mahdi Army militiamen have resisted attempts by US-led forces to expel them from the revered Imam Ali mosque complex, told Aljazeera they welcomed al-Sistani's proposal to lead marchers to Najaf.

Al-Sadr 's supporters have been
besieged for three weeks
"People welcome the return of his eminence Ayat Allah Ali al-Sistani and now men, women and children, in groups and individually, are heading to the city of Najaf to lift the siege imposed by the US occupation forces," said Aws al-Khafaji, an al-Sadr's spokesman from the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya.


Asked about demands by al-Sistani's aides for Mahdi Army fighters to leave the shrine, al-Khafaji blamed besieging US-led forces for preventing a peaceful withdrawl.


"We repeatedly call on a peaceful solution but ... no one can leave the shrine as US snipers have taken up positions on the roofs of the neighboring buildings while the shells are falling here and there," said al-Khafaji.


 


"It is better that the fighting ceases so all those conducting their sit-in can leave safely".


 


'Silent' claim rejected


Al-Khafaf rejected charges that the Iranian-born al-Sistani, who has urged his compatriots not to take up arms against occupation forces, had been curiously silent over the situation in Najaf.


"It is absolutely incorrect. Despite his serious illness, his eminence and the team accompanying him were following the situation in Iraq.


"He has not spared any efforts to end the crisis peacefully. He has proceeded with contacts there that were not reported in the media."


Al-Sistani's propposed march is likely to put al-Sadr's movement under further pressure to withdraw from the mosque, whose occupation by al-Mahdi Army militiamen has directly challenged the authority of US-backed interim Prime Minister Iyyad Allawi.

Aljazeera + Agencies

Rachel Corrie Died One Year Ago

Naomi Klein
Thursday May 22, 2003
The Guardian

Jessica Lynch and Rachel Corrie could have passed for sisters. Two all-American blondes, two destinies for ever changed in a Middle East war zone. Private Jessica Lynch, the soldier, was born in Palestine, West Virginia. Rachel Corrie, the activist, died in Israeli-occupied Palestine.

Corrie was four years older than 19-year-old Lynch. Her body was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza seven days before Lynch was taken into Iraqi custody on March 23. Before she went to Iraq, Lynch organised a pen-pal programme with a local kindergarten. Before Corrie left for Gaza, she organised a pen-pal programme between kids in her hometown of Olympia, Washington, and children in Rafah.

Lynch went to Iraq as a soldier loyal to her government. Corrie went to Gaza to oppose the actions of her government. As a US citizen, she believed she had a special responsibility to defend Palestinians against US-built weapons, purchased with US aid to Israel. In letters home, she described how fresh water was being diverted from Gaza to Israeli settlements, how death was more normal than life. "This is what we pay for here," she wrote.

Unlike Lynch, Corrie did not go to Gaza to engage in combat: she went to try to thwart it. Along with her fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), she believed that the Israeli military's incursions could be slowed by the presence of highly visible "internationals". The killing of Palestinian civilians may have become commonplace, the thinking went, but Israel doesn't want the diplomatic or media scandals that would come if it killed a US student.

In a way, Corrie was harnessing the very thing that she disliked most about her country: the belief that American lives are worth more than any others - and trying to use it to save a few Palestinian homes from demolition.

Believing her fluorescent orange jacket would serve as armour, Corrie stood in front of bulldozers, slept beside wells and escorted children to school. If suicide bombers turn their bodies into weapons of death, Corrie turned hers into the opposite - a weapon of life, a "human shield".

When that Israeli bulldozer driver looked at Corrie's orange jacket and pressed the accelerator, her strategy failed. It turns out that the lives of some US citizens - even beautiful, young, white women - are valued more than others. And nothing demonstrates this more starkly than the opposing responses to Rachel Corrie and Pte Jessica Lynch.

When the Pentagon announced Lynch's successful rescue, she became a hero, complete with "America loves Jessica" fridge magnets, stickers, T-shirts, mugs, country songs and an NBC made-for-TV movie. According to White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, President George Bush was "full of joy for Jessica Lynch". Her rescue, we were told, was a testament to a core American value: as West Virginia senator Jay Rockefeller said to the Senate: "We take care of our people."

Do they? Corrie's death, which made the papers for two days and then virtually disappeared, has met with almost total official silence, despite the fact that eyewitnesses claim it was a deliberate act. President Bush has said nothing about a US citizen killed by a US-made bulldozer bought with US tax dollars. A US congressional resolution demanding an independent inquiry has been buried in committee, leaving the Israeli military's investigation - which cleared itself of any wrongdoing - as the only official investigation.

The ISM says that this non-response has sent a clear, and dangerous, signal. According to Olivia Jackson, a 25-year-old British citizen in Rafah: "After Rachel was killed, [the Israeli military] waited for the response from the American government and the response was pathetic. They know they can get away with it, and it has encouraged them to keep on going."

First there was Brian Avery, a 24-year-old US citizen shot in the face on April 5. Then Tom Hurndall, a British ISM activist shot in the head and left brain dead on April 11. Next was James Miller, the British cameraman shot dead while wearing a vest that said "TV". In all of these cases, eyewitnesses say the shooters were Israeli soldiers.

There is something else that Jessica Lynch and Rachel Corrie have in common: both of their stories have been distorted by the military for its own purposes. According to the official story, Lynch was captured in a bloody gun battle, mistreated by sadistic Iraqi doctors, then rescued in another storm of bullets by heroic Navy Seals. In the past weeks, another version has emerged. The doctors who treated Lynch found no evidence of battle wounds, and donated their own blood to save her life. Most embarrassing of all, witnesses have told the BBC that those daring Navy Seals already knew there were no Iraqi fighters left in the area when they stormed the hospital.

But while Lynch's story has been distorted to make its protagonists appear more heroic, Corrie's story has been posthumously twisted to make her, and her fellow ISM activists, appear sinister.

For months, the Israeli military had been looking for an excuse to get rid of the ISM "troublemakers". It found it in Asif Mohammed Hanif and Omar Khan Sharif, the two British suicide bombers. It turns out that they had attended a memorial service for Corrie in Rafah, a fact the Israeli military has seized on to link the ISM to terrorism. Members of ISM point out that the event was open to the public, and that they knew nothing of the British visitors' intentions.

In the past two weeks, half a dozen ISM activists have been arrested, several deported, and the organisation's offices raided. The crackdown is spreading to all "internationals", meaning there are fewer people in the occupied territories to either witness the abuses or assist the victims. On Monday, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process told the security council that dozens of UN aid workers had been prevented from getting in and out of Gaza, calling it a violation of "Israel's international humanitarian law obligations".

On June 5 there will be a international day of action for Palestinian rights. One of the demands is for the UN to send a monitoring force into the occupied territories. Until that happens, many are determined to continue Corrie's work. More than 40 students at her former college, Evergreen State, Olympia, have signed up to go to Gaza with the ISM this summer.

So who is a hero? During the attack on Iraq, some of Corrie's friends emailed her picture to MSNBC asking that it be included on the station's "wall of heroes", along with Jessica Lynch. The network didn't comply, but Corrie is being honoured in other ways. Her family has received more than 10,000 letters of support, communities across the country have organised memorial services, and children from the occupied territories are being named Rachel. It's not a made-for-TV kind of tribute, but maybe that's for the best.

· Naomi Klein 's most recent book is 'Fences and Windows'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,961000,00.html