Medea Benjamin: A Real Hero for America and for Peace

Never go out quietly, raise a storm, bring the roof down, interrupt when they least expect it.

(SACRAMENTO, CA) - Few people could get away with what she did, but Medea Benjamin got her point across to Barack Obama this week and it won't soon be forgotten.

She called out questions to the top U.S. official for several minutes about drones and murdering 16-year old children with American military hardware, while security personnel drug her from the room. Medea's words are on the screen in the video below.

The most explosive aspect of this story to me, is that Medea is Jewish. A Jewish American woman rallying for Muslims being killed by American drones, that is something to notice. She defies stereotypes the way Michael Phelps, "The Baltimore Bullet," burns up the archetypal definition of the marijuana smoker.

Women, mothers... they are only marginally respected worldwide, yet this gender bears the hardship of this planet. But being a woman isn't enough, not at all. We have too many female leaders in the world who are no better than their male counterparts. Politicians like Hillary Clinton, Aung San Suu Kyi and Sheikh Hasina are a blight on the political landscape, but not Medea Benjamin, a true world citizen concerned for the welfare of all human beings.

We have rallied for Muslims at Salem-News for years, not because of preference, but necessity.

I have had to explain so many times to people who hate our reports on Israel and Palestine, which illustrate the true nature of Israeli apartheid, that being critical of Israel is no different from being critical of countries with similar racist policies, like Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia and Burma.

Those who have become wealthy due to corruption and war are thieves, they do not deserve what they have, and any president who kills illegally in the name of my country, and Medea's country, is dead wrong.

Religious extremists and their American supporters are destroying this world, Benjamin is going to do anything in her power to turn it around, and I love and respect her so much.

I am fortunate to have her as a friend in social media networks and believe me, she is responsive and kind. This woman, who ran for the California Senate in the Green Party, needs to keep going.

She could be a fantastic national leader, we need a couple of hundred Medea's to run for office in this nation and we need to take back our moral structure that once represented America.

These days we're just viewed as a murderous, dangerous, spoiled group of people who are unwilling to acknowledge our mistakes, or correct them.

As always, it is about the media. While millions of caring citizens are online reading truth, the vast majority of people are still getting their news from the boob tube rather than YouTube, so Medea's speech, which reached practically all Americans, is invaluable.

Naciima Hassan: if she were a Muslim she will be called terrorist for telling the truth

Najwa Ali: May Allah put the light of Islam in her heart as a reword for her braveness

Michelle Forus: I am American and agree with this woman 100% this senseless murder has to stop no matter the religion or race aren't we all the same race? The human race? Different beliefs is one of things I treasure in this world, why do so many not see what I see?

Nelly Delery: This isnt the first time she spoke her gentle voice, God bless her heart!

With almost 25 years of experience on the west coast and worldwide as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor, Tim King is Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. His background includes covering the war in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, and reporting from the Iraq war in 2008. Tim is a former U.S. Marine who follows stories of Marines and Marine Veterans; he's covered British Royal Marines and in Iraq, Tim embedded with the same unit he served with in the 1980's.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing from traditional mainstream news agencies like The Associated Press and Electronic Media Association; he also holds awards from the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs; and was presented with a 'Good Neighbor Award' for his reporting, by the The Red Cross.

Tim's years as a Human Rights reporter have taken on many dimensions; he has rallied for a long list of cultures and populations and continues to every day, with a strong and direct concentration on the 2009 Genocide of Tamil Hindus and Christians in Sri Lanka. As a result of his long list of reports exposing war crimes against Tamil people, Tim was invited to be the keynote speaker at the FeTNA (Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America) Conference in Baltimore, in July 2012. This is the largest annual gathering of North American Tamils; Tim addressed more than 3000 people and was presented with a traditional Sri Lanka ‘blessed garland’ and a shawl as per the tradition and custom of Tamil Nadu

In a personal capacity, Tim has written 2,026 articles as of March 2012 for Salem-News.com since the new format designed by Matt Lintz was launched in December, 2005. Serving readers with news from all over the globe, Tim's life is literally encircled by the endless news flow published by Salem-News.com, where more than 100 writers contribute stories from 23+ countries and regions.

Tim specializes in writing about political and military developments worldwide; and maintains that the label 'terrorist' is ill placed in many cases; specifically with the LTTE Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, where it was used as an excuse to slaughter people by the tens of thousands; and in Gaza, where a trapped population lives at the mercy of Israel's destructive military war crime grinder. At the center of all of this, Tim pays extremely close attention to the safety and welfare of journalists worldwide.

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pinkfloyd June 3, 2013 5:36 pm (Pacific time)

Interesting point smoke..altho we all know most of obama's speeches are set up, this may not have been one of them. I think she snuck in, knowing what to say/do, to get a place where she could speak. I have seen many others play the game to get into a place where they could speak out. I think she is the real deal. And you know me by now, I question everything :-) After decades of research, I seem to be going back to my first love. The love of knowing we are good people with much potential, but a few rich and powerful people want to control us, make us slaves, make us fight against each other etc. May I suggest viewing some of David Icke's interviews on youtube. Rothchild zionists is a good one, and he has some new ones out now that he finished his book. We need to look beyond the box that the globalists have put us in. Silly as it may seem, the movie "Matrix" is a perfect example. They get all the power, and we are nothing but animals to be trained and killed so they can rule the world.

Smoke June 2, 2013 9:53 pm (Pacific time)

This was a set up for her and Obama. She got into the venue via vetted ticket, and was by her lonesome. IT WAS A DISTRACTION THAT FAILED FOR OBAMA. JUST LIKE THE PETERED OUT OCCUPY MOBSTERS FOOLS ERRAND.

Vic June 2, 2013 3:35 pm (Pacific time)

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference should try sleeping in a room with a mosquito" Author Unknown

Bravo! Vic

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