If you haven't met Sid Shniad you've at least read his posts. And if you haven't read his posts, now's your chance. Sid is a one-man news wire who, every day, surprises us with unexpected, often very encouraging reports about Palestine. You'll bee seeing more of Sid here.

Sid sends this recent item from Omar Barghouti of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

------ from Omar Barghouti of Palestine Solidarity Campaign ---------------------------------

A SERIES OF PUBLIC FORUMS WITH JEFF HALPER
January 28th-30th

Wednesday, January 28 – 7 p.m.
Unitarian Church, 49th & Oak St, Vancouver
Suggested donation $10, no-one turned away

Friday, January 30 – 5 p.m.
University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Irving K. Barber Learning Centre ( Main Library), Room 182
Sponsored by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR)
Suggested donation $10, no-one turned away

Friday, January 30 - 8 p.m.
Masjid Al-Salaam Mosque
5060 Canada Way (East of Sperling), Burnaby
Free Underground Parking
Donations appreciated

Saturday, January 17, 2009
1:30pm - 4:00pm
Holland Park, 13428 Old Yale Rd, Surrey
Right Across King George Sky Train Station
On facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=69572879128

Please come out this Saturday January 17th to join with the diverse communities in Surrey who are organizing a rally in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Gaza. With the ground invasion starting this week and a growing number of fatalities, our ongoing support for the people of Palestine - along with millions of other people of conscience worldwide - is critical.

 THIRD VANCOUVER RALLY TO PROTEST ISRAELI WAR CRIMES IN GAZA
Saturday Jan 10 at 1 pm
Vancouver Art Gallery
For more info email vancouver.gazaprotest@gmail.com
Nearly 1000 people came out in the rain, sleet and snow in Vancouver on Monday December 29th to show solidarity with the people of Gaza. With the continued escalation of the ground invasion and the number of dead in Gaza now over 600, our ongoing support for the people of Palestine - together with millions of other people of conscience demonstrating worldwide - is critical.

From the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid
http://www.caiaweb.org/
* Gaza is the world's largest open-air prison. 1.5 million residents are packed into an area 45 km long x 10 km wide, while Israel controls Gaza's air space and borders. Over 80% of the population are refugees denied their legal Right to Return to the homes and lands from which they were expelled in 1948. Israel also illegally restricts Palestinian freedom of movement into and out of Gaza. For example, in August 2008, Israel denied three Gazan Fulbright Scholars their basic right to education by having their American entry visas revoked.

Phone/Fax/Email Campaign Against Canadian Complicity in Israeli War Crimes in Gaza
In response to the ongoing Israeli bombardment on Gaza, Tadamon! (http://www.tadamon.ca/post/2517) is calling on people to directly contact Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lawrence Cannon.

Please take a couple of minutes to directly call the offices for both the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs to demand: that Canada call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, a cessation of the ongoing Israeli siege on Gaza and for Canada to address the root cause for the current violence: Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and the denial of the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.

A full-day conference with: Speakers • Films • Live report from Palestine

Saturday September 27th
11am – 4pm
SFU Harbour Centre
515 West Hastings Street

Throughout the decades of Israeli military occupation, Palestinians from all walks of life have been illegally detained by Israel. Since 1967, more than 650,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israel in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. This forms approximately 20% of the total Palestinian population of the Occupied Palestinian Territories and 40% of the total male population. At present, an estimated 10,000 Palestinians are in prison because of their refusal to accept foreign occupation and ongoing Israeli colonization.

By Carel Moiseiwitsch and Gordon Murray

In June 2007, the Palestine Media Collective produced a newspaper parody of the Vancouver Sun that satirized CanWest’s anti-Palestinian bias with articles such as “Study Shows Truth Biased Against Israel” by Cyn Sorsheep. Six months later, CanWest Mediaworks Publications Inc. launched a lawsuit against those “conspiring” to produce and distribute the parody. The original writ named Mordecai Briemberg, Horizon Publications, and six Jane and John Does.

On Sunday June 14th, the Jewish National Fund held their annual fundraising banquet in Vancouver at the Four Seasons Hotel. The JNF is one of the primary organizations responsible for the historic and ongoing colonization of Palestinian lands for the development of Jewish-only settlement. This has resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and contributed to the apartheid system in Israel. Despite its racist history and policies, the JNF is granted status as a charity in Canada, enabling it to raise millions of dollars through tax-deductible donations, including at the annual fundraising dinners held across Canada.