Does this outfit make me look dumb and ineffective?
September 23, 2009 by Dusty · 7 Comments
The Big O™ is now giving up on his position that Israel should cease building more homes and settlements on Palestinian land, asking both sides to come back to the table and discuss.
Yeah right jackass, like that is going to change anything Israel does regarding the Palestinian’s right to live and exist like humans on their own land.
The NYT sums up The Big O’s new position this way:
Rather, Mr. Obama, unable to extract that concession from Israel or other confidence-building moves from Arab states, seems intent to press Palestinians and Israelis to negotiate all the difficult issues between them toward a final deal that has eluded negotiators, and bedeviled American presidents, since President Jimmy Carter brokered a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1979.
The pivot toward tackling issues that include the status of Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the borders of a future Palestinian state greatly increases the stakes for an administration that has found even small advances to be beyond reach. It also risks making Mr. Obama appear ineffective in having not gained a tangible early goal of his Middle East policy.
The last sentence really chaps my ass as it’s so friggin obvious to me. Ineffective, thy name is Barack Obama.
Obama has changed his ‘position’ so many times on so many issues he and we should all have a nasty friggin case of whiplash at this point. In fact, I am hardpressed to name one thing The Big O has steadfastly maintained his position on since we the people elected him last November.
Oh wait..I got one!
Afghanistan.
If you, m’dear reader, have another, please by all means..leave it in the comment section ok? I would love to have something positive to cheer about these days.
In the meantime, enjoy Will Ferrel’s new Funny or Die video on health insurance reform.
Israel keeps water from Palestinians.
August 24, 2009 by Dusty · Leave a Comment
This is SO fucked up. The European Union, the UN, and everyone else that talks to Israel needs to bitch slap them for this bullshit. Pathetic fucks.
Sphere: Related ContentIt’s All About Maintaining A Cold War
June 15, 2009 by Alien Trucker · 3 Comments
The election in Iran this past Friday seemed to be a joke to most of the world. The incumbent won but even if the opposition would have gotten all of the votes I really don’t think it would have made one bit of difference. The country isn’t governed by the elected president anyway. It is ruled by a religious dictator who hand picked all of the politicians who ran for president. The runoff last week was two people with the same brain…the guy from there who “talks with god”.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, makes all of the decisions for the way Iranians live. He wamt to be the one who makes the worlds decisions as well. Especially the decision of everything Israel. He doesn’t want there to even be an Israel.
Now, I am not presenting any argument here about the Israel/Palestine differences or how Israel became a state back in the 40’s. Neither your view or the Ayatollah’s is what I am writing about today. It’s something I haven’t much talked about since the Berlin Wall came down and the cold war was “oficially over”. It is nuclear weapons and a new kind of cold war. One with a nation that doesn’t have nuclear weapons yet, one that does, and the United States.
It has been news and then not then is again.You know…the Koreans and Iran teaming up with the nukes Kim Jong Il has and the long range missles Ahmadinejad has and their friendly political status in the world view. And the fact that no matter who is president of Iran, Ali is the one who really is friendly with the Korean leader. A bunch of insane, power mad fools, some religious zealots and some just crazy.
On one hand this cold war is not that much different than the one the US had with the Soviet Union. The beginning hysteria has just begun in the news. Kids in Israel, South Korea and even Iran are being fed back door propaganda by the bomb drills that take me back to my elementary school days. Diving under the desk and shielding their eyes in nuke drills that wouldn’t do any good but really keeps the fear in the mind. Enough fear in the kids minds keeps their parents full of fear and the support for warring actions at the forefront. Every one has the knowledge the weapons of mass destruction are always poised for killing and no one knows when their lives will be threatened. Fear!
On the other hand (man! didn’t the president catch shit using that phrase) this one is not like the last one. While the countries involved are smaller than either the United States or the Soviet Union it seems their leaders are much more willing to use the nukes to serve their own purpose. The implications for a huge scale nuclear holocaust are still there though. The bigger nuclear armed countries are sitting in the background waiting to help the favored nation(s) of their choice. So the opportunity for a larger scale nuclear disaster is greater.
The leaders of the worlds nations are scrambling to try to talk with the leaders of Iran, Israel and N.Korea. Diplomacy before drastic action is always best and no matter what the plans are most of the nations involved are being asked to at least go through that protocal. If they do I will be suprised but somewhat comforted. New Mexico’s governor, Bill Richardson has been able to temporarily calm the insane N.Korean guy a few times over the years but I fear Il’s crazy has a new ally in Ahmadinejad and his insanity. Their combined psychotic desire for destruction will feed off of the others and they will attempt attack(s) on nations they abhor. Retaliation will come not only from the smaller nations but their allies who are also armed with bigger and badder nukes poised nearby.
I really am trying to be optimistic about the new cold war. I am hoping that the leaders of the world will sit down together and work things out. I really feel a nuclear free world would be a better place but as long as there are humans I doubt that could even happen…unless a bigger, more destructive weapon is as mass produced as the nukes were/are. So I am hoping we all just keep the bombs in our basement where they belong.
Lets hope this cold war turns out like the last one did.
You know…sitting around the campfires amidst rubble from a wall torn down…singing Kum Ba Ya.
Or some other happy song.
Sphere: Related ContentThe anniversary of the creation of Israel
May 14, 2009 by Dusty · 2 Comments
Tomorrow is the 61st anniversary of Israel’s creation in the middle east. I want Palestinian’s and Jews to live in peace. American Friends Service Committee, AFSC, has a video that shows how the Palestinian land has been carved up during the various decades.
Palestinian’s should be allowed to live on their homeland and be self-sustaining. Israel has taken control of prime real estate over the decades. There has to be a dialogue that offers both groups of people freedom to live in peace. There has to be….
May 15,1948 was a banner day for Jews. It was quite the opposite for Palestinians. The nightmare has never ended for Palestinians.When will peace come to this region..or is the real question…
Will peace ever come to this region?
From AFSC’s site:
There are often different understandings of the history of 1948 and its ongoing significance. We believe that an honest discussion and accounting of this period is central to any lasting and just peace between Palestinians and Jewish Israelis.
61 years of war and turmoil must to come to an end..It will take the entire world to accomplish this. Please, let the conversation begin today.
Crossposted at my personal rant space, Leftwing Nutjob.
Sphere: Related ContentIsrael denounces Gaza war crimes investigation by UN
April 5, 2009 by Dusty · 4 Comments
And this really, would be laughable if it wasn’t so damn disgusting. It is also a high-irony alert. From Jurist:
In an interview with a reporter, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the probe is an attempt to demonize Israel and that it has no moral ground. Palmor also condemned the UNHRC as unreliable and having the worst history of all the organizations within the UN. The criticism came the same day that the UNHRC announced the appointment of South African judge Richard Goldstone to head the fact-finding mission. Israel has not said if it will cooperate with the probe, which was originally approved by the UNHCR in January.
The impetus for the probe was a report [authored by UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk], which criticized Israel for failing to take adequate precautions to distinguish between civilians and combatants in their offensives in the region. Both Israel and the US criticized the report, calling the rapporteur’s views “anything but fair.” An internal Israeli military investigation found earlier this week that war crimes had not been committed in the offensive despite individual reports by Israeli soldiers. Israel has already disputed a previous report to the UNHRC that accused it of human rights violations. In January, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said that it lacked standing to investigate possible war crimes in Gaza.
Sweet Jaysus in a speedo..demonize Israel and that it has no moral ground? Dude, you are so full of shit, your eyes better be brown. Morally, Israel is so bankrupt, when it comes to Palestine..I can’t even begin to point out the obvious here…but let me try..
Letting Israel’s military investigate their own war crimes is tantamount to the fox guarding the henhouse.
Their own soldiers reported various war crimes during the latest Gaza seige.
Plenty of news reports are out there..including numerous videos of Israel bombing civilians homes.
More civilians were killed than Hamas soldiers in Gaza, by all news accounts. This one alone states 1,434 Palestinians, including 960 civilians were killed.
Violations of the Geneva Conventions which require the military to distinguish between military targets and surrounding civilians.
From The Guardian:
The Guardian has compiled detailed evidence of alleged war crimes committed by Israel during the 23-day offensive in the Gaza Strip earlier this year, involving the use of Palestinian children as human shields and the targeting of medics and hospitals.
A month-long investigation also obtained evidence of civilians being hit by fire from unmanned drone aircraft said to be so accurate that their operators can tell the colour of the clothes worn by a target.
*snip*
Some of the most dramatic testimony gathered by the Guardian came from three teenage brothers in the al-Attar family. They describe how they were taken from home at gunpoint, made to kneel in front of Israeli tanks to deter Hamas fighters from firing, and sent by Israeli soldiers into Palestinian houses to clear them. “They would make us go first so if any fighters shot at them the bullets would hit us, not them,” 14-year-old Al’a al-Attar said.
Israel isn’t above the law or the Geneva Conventions. That they would kill more civilians than Hamas soldiers and use children as human shields turns my stomach. Watch all three parts of The Guardians investigation into Israel war crimes here
.
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Israeli Conscientious Objectors Give Army Salaries to Gaza
March 30, 2009 by Border Explorer · Leave a Comment
[for a real emotional uplift, watch this 3 minute video!]
Israelis who chose jail rather than complete their mandatory military service are now announcing that they will donate the salaries they received from the Israeli Defense Forces for the short time they served in uniform toward the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip. They are giving the several thousand shekels they earned to the Doctors Without Borders organization to purchase medical equipment for Gaza.
Maya Tamarin, 19, of Tel Aviv emphasized to ynetnews.com that their donation was symbolic: “We don’t actually think that this sum could rebuild Gaza. We simply don’t want the army’s money. Instead, we will transfer it to where it should go. Instead of money to destroy, money to rebuild-from the ugliest place to the best place.”
Taramin served for three months, spending a large part of that time in military prison before being discharged for medical reasons. During those three months, she received a salary from the IDF.
All nine young Israeli contributors are former members of the “Shministim (Twelfth Graders’) Letter” group, high school graduates who published a public statement of refusal to serve in the IDF. Young Israeli men must perform three years of full-time military service [young women serve for two]. Barring an individual exemption, the military service is usually performed immediately after completing high school by all.
Refusal to serve in the military results in sentencing to military prison. Terms usually range from 21 to 28 days; those who refuse to wear a military uniform while in jail are sent to solitary confinement for the duration of their term, according to the Shministim’s website.
After completing their initial jail sentence, the objector is then redrafted. If they refuse a second time, as most do, they face the same sentence. This can be a repeated process until they receive their discharge papers. A Shministi may never receive these papers, and although the Israeli military may tire of re-calling objectors into prison regularly, without these papers, an objector’s fate is always uncertain. There is literally no end to the number of times youth might be sent back to jail.
Tamarin and her friends are still actively promoting refusal of military service among Israeli high school students. She told ynetnews.com: “The aim is to increase the next generations of objectors, prompt teenagers to think. I personally don’t want everybody to refuse to enlist, but that the issues of militarism in Israeli society will be questioned.”
The concluding quotations are statements from Israelis we need to support [quotations from ynetnews.com].
Sahar Vardi, 18, from Jerusalem spent five months of repeated detentions as a soldier, until she was discharged:
“We refused because of what the army is doing in Gaza, so clearly when we get the money we will give it to the people who deserve to get it.”
Yuval Oron, 20 from Neve Shalom served 45 days in military prison.
“Transferring the money comes from thinking of all the damage and pain caused by the army and specifically during the weeks of massacre of Operation Cast Lead. This is an attempt to show solidarity of young Israeli Jews, and maybe also an attempt to stick it to the IDF.”
Crossposted at Border Explorer
Reflecting On the War In Gaza
January 16, 2009 by Gee Carol · 2 Comments
The war in Gaza has been a terrible event, terrible for the Palestinians and terrible for Israel. It has been terrible for Hamas and for Fatah, for Gaza and for the West Bank. It has been terrible for those trying to help, the NGO’s, the UN and Egypt.
The loss of life has been astonishingly asymmetrical. And the loss of innocent lives has been just heartbreaking. As a result protest has broken out all over the world, including in Israel. The nation of Israel cannot justify its actions as defensive. And Hamas has been shortsighted and stubborn in maintaining its rocket attacks on Israel. And the United Nations has, once again shown that it is ineffectual at its most basic work.
The timing of the war was chosen because of the transition of power in the United States, and because the Bush administration lost credibility as honest brokers for peace a long time ago. “United States interests” have not been in what is best for the Middle East, but myopic and misguided. The timing took terrible advantage of President-elect Obama’s lack of authority in the situation, knowing that he would respect the principle of one president for foreign policy at a time. Congress is out of touch with how widespread the dissatisfaction with what our friend Israel has done in Gaza. It is an unfortunate and unrealistic situation. The timing also has to do with Israel’s political calendar. With the current Prime Minister having lost credibility and standing in his country and with elections coming in February, the war inevitably looks like it was fought for political gain at home for the Israelis.
The news about the war has been bad. And it has been badly reported, biased against the Palestinian people who lost their lives as innocents. Opinion makers ignore the astounding loss of life in the Gaza strip, they ignore the politics of the situation in the U.S., Israel and the West Bank. And they ignore the failures of the Bush administration regarding a long-awaited peace agreement in lands that have tried to settle it with violence for many decades.
Terrorists get to their views because of grievances, either real or perceived. Their terrorized adversaries will never be able to kill them fast enough or in enough numbers to attain peace. Because others look on, see what is happening, and take up the cause as soon as they are old enough. Terrorism is a tactic that is not confined to merely those who fit the stereotypical model.
Nations can find themselves getting into vengance-driven responses or aggression that puts them at risk of losing their souls. If nations had such things as “souls.” Individuals have souls, nations have values and histories and constitutions and norms and good will to throw away. If they lose their way, as has the U.S., Israel, and Palestine (both parts). People in authority need to step back, take a breath and open their eyes to a larger reality.
(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)
My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.
Sphere: Related Content9 Israeli human rights groups think Israel has committed war crimes
January 15, 2009 by Dusty · Leave a Comment
I shit you not people. From IHT:
Nine Israeli human rights groups called on Wednesday for an investigation into whether Israeli officials had committed war crimes in Gaza since tens of thousands of civilians there have nowhere to flee, the health system has collapsed, many are without electricity and running water, and some are beyond the reach of rescue teams.
“This kind of fighting constitutes a blatant violation of the laws of warfare and raises the suspicion, which we ask be investigated, of the commission of war crimes,” the groups said in their first news conference on the 19-day-old war.
If that doesn’t tell you something, your fucking daft. Keep in mind that both Hamas and Israel are asshats of the highest order. Both are war-mongering fucks.
But Israel admits it has not slowed down Hamas. From another IHT article:
Despite heavy air and ground assaults, Israel has yet to cripple the military wing of Hamas or destroy the group’s ability to launch rockets, Israeli intelligence officials said on Tuesday, suggesting that Israel’s main goals in the conflict remain unfulfilled even after more than two weeks of war.
The comments reflected a view among some Israeli officials that any lasting solution to the conflict would require either a breakthrough diplomatic accord that heavily restricts Hamas’s military abilities or a deeper ground assault into urban areas of Gaza, known here as a possible “Phase Three” of the war.
Over a thousand Palestinians have been killed so far. From the Guardian article:
So far 1,010 Palestinians have died, including 315 children and 95 women, Dr Moawiya Hassanein, head of Gaza’s medical emergency services, told the Guardian. The number of injured after 19 days of fighting stood at 4,700, he said. On the Israeli side, 13 people have died, among them three civilians, and four soldiers accidentally killed by their own troops.
If two weeks of constant shelling has not stopped Hamas…perhaps it is time to talk ya’all? Or do the numbers of dead and wounded in this pissing contest mean nothing to either side?
Dick Cheney has no remorse for the thousands of dead and wounded in Iraq…it’s not impossible to believe the same about Hamas and the government of Israel..but it does sicken and anger me.
Speaking of moi…..now the doc thinks I have Mono..an old bat with mono…wtf? All I know is I ain’t getting any better and I am a tad bitchy..ok…real bitchy. The ball and chain is real glad I am sleeping a LOT. 
None of them knew what to do
January 8, 2009 by Gee Carol · 5 Comments
Former Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter, President-elect Barack Obama and President George W. Bush
all posed for a group picture in the Oval Office of the White House Wednesday. (White House photo by Eric Draper). It was a very momentous occasion, requested by President-elect Obama and hosted by our current president (OCP). First there was a private meeting at which reportedly, the old heads advised our new president-to-be on how he could avoid being caught in a White House bubble of group-think, and how a President Obama could make it more possible for his people to bring him bad news. At the end there was a dynamite photo-op for everyone, during which these distinguished gentlemen were discussing the current Oval Office rug.
In an escalating Israeli/Palestinian conflict, at the same time half way around the world, there were people working very hard to kill each other . The headlines had been very troubling for several days: The Raw Story: A Norwegian doctor reports that “Israel intentionally targeted civilians*” (1/5/09). McClatchy: “Airstrike kills 3 at Gaza school-UN*” (1/6/08). Informed Comment: “Israel/Gaza Cyberwar and parallels to Abu Ghraib*” (1/6/09). And recently, Informed Comment: “Something Horrible has been Discovered*” (1/7/09) Cole’s post linked to The Telegraph/UK headline: “Gaza medics describe horror of strike which killed 70” (1/8/09).
Any talk of the Middle East? One could wonder whether the Oval Office occupants had anything to say in their meeting about how the United States has been forever unable to help generations of these determined combatants achieve a lasting peace. In turn each of these powerful “leaders of the free world” have been singularly unsuccessful as Middle East peacemakers. War-makers, yes; temporary agreements, yes; but peacemakers with permanence, no.
Madeleine Albright’s book, “Madam Secretary” recounts a great deal about how hard former presidents have tried for peace. About Carter, elected in 1976, she said,
President Carter was one of our most intelligent chief executives and one who showed a fierce dedication to conflict prevention and individual human dignity both during and after his term in office. He was a proactive President who achieved much in foreign policy, including the historic Middle East Peace Accords at Camp David. . . . Politically, however he was unlucky.
About Bush 41, Albright observed, regarding her work in the Clinton administration in 1997,
People were worried about Saddam’s weapons and asking what we were going to do. . . No serious consideration was given to actually invading Iraq. The senior President Bush had not invaded when given the chance with hundreds of thousands of troops already in the region during the Gulf War.
In Albright’s Chronology of her diplomatic work are included these pertinent entries: 11/4/92 – Bill Clinton elected President. 6/26/93 – U.S. bombs Iraqi intelligence headquarters in retaliation for assassination attempt against former President George Bush. 9/13/93 – Israeli and Palestinian leaders sign Oslo Declaration of Principles. 1/23/97 – MKA sworn in as 64th secretary of state. 10/15/98 – Middle East talks result in Wye River Memorandum. 7/11-25/2000 – Middle East summit. 9/28/2000 – Israeli politician Ariel Sharon visits the Temple Mount/Haram alSharif, violence breaks out. January 2001 – Last efforts to negotiate Middle East settlement failed.
“More than meets the eye.” Following shortly after that we saw the Republicans take over. For a time the Middle East appeared to be quiescent. It was not of great concern to George W. Bush, until the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. That tragic loss of American life set the U.S. on a path in the Middle East that largely ignored the unsolved conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Walls went up, Israel withdrew from Gaza, Hamas won an election, Ariel Sharon left the picture and tensions grew. The war in Lebanon happened. In all of these things the U.S. efforts were absent or made relatively little difference. All eyes have been on Afghanistan and mostly, Iraq.
President-elect Obama has promised to turn attention form Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan. And he is not talking much about Israel and Palestine, reminding that “we have one president at a time.” At the end of last year an important article appeared on Steve Clemons’ blog, The Washington Note: “Daniel Levy: What Next on Israel/Gaza? Why Should Americans Care?” (12/28/08). This brilliant thinker asked a number of important questions that should have prompted some actions or answers from the Republican administration or former Republican leaders or opinion makers.
But these are the stories that appeared. From at-Largely came this story, “John Bolton continues to have no clue but plenty of propaganda…*” (1/5/09). See also Think Progress: “Gaza Crisis Means We Should Attack Iran Now#” (1/1/09). And this appeared at ThinkProgress: “Perino: Ground Invasion Will Help ‘Create A More Stable And Secure Area’ For People Of Gaza*” (1/5/09). AlterNet asks my question: “Why Do So Few Speak Up for Gaza?*” (1/7/08). And now this Happy News — AlterNet: “Israeli Militants Poised to Resettle Gaza After Assault*” (1/7/09).
I have not listened to the news today. Absolutely everything might have changed. It will not make any difference what the Bush administration does because, as Politico says: “Gaza reshuffles [the] Israeli political deck” (1/8/09) for Barack Obama. And none of his predecessors in the Oval Office can tell him what to do, because they do not know. None of them figured out the magic formula. Perhaps there is none. But one thing upon which you can count is that our new President will give it his best. He sees the world with very different eyes than the people in the picture, and that is a good thing.
Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are “betmo*” and Jon#.
(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)
My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.
Technorati tags: news news and politics president israel gaza middle east
Sphere: Related ContentLebanon fires rockets into Israel
January 8, 2009 by Dusty · 3 Comments
Sweet-Jaysus-in-a-speedo….the shit has not only hit the fan, its getting knee-deep. From Reuters:
Israel pressed its offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip on Thursday amid sharp Red Cross criticism that it was delaying access to casualties.
A rocket salvo from Lebanon slightly wounded two people in northern Israel and briefly raised fears that Hezbollah fighters were opening a second front to relieve pressure on Gaza. But an Israeli cabinet minister blamed Palestinian groups in Lebanon.
This isn’t going away any time soon. It will only get worse. Keep in mind that very few Israeli’s have been killed while over 700 Palestinians are dead from this pissing contest. Again from Reuters:
Eleven Israelis have died in the past 13 days, eight of them soldiers, including four killed by “friendly” fire.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its officials and Palestinian ambulance workers had found four starving children huddled with at least 12 corpses in Gaza in a house 80 meters from an Israeli military position.
Among the dead in the house, found lying on mattresses, were the children’s mothers, the ICRC said.
In nearby houses in Gaza’s devastated Zeitoun neighborhood, the team found another three corpses and 15 survivors, including several who were wounded, the Geneva-based agency said.
It is so hard to wrap my mind around this carnage. It makes me weep. Israel is creating orphans at an alarming rate, they are using a wrecking ball when a hammer will do the job.
Tags: Lebanon launches rockets into Israel, Gaza
Sphere: Related ContentHow to Screw Up the Middle East
January 7, 2009 by Lulu Maude · 5 Comments
1. Assume that the Middle East and its inhabitants belong in the butt-crack of the universal human body-mind. (Note placement of Africa, too, while you’re at it… the metaphor applies to it, too.) Place the region on the world map accordingly.
2. Develop an unwholesome interest in exploiting the resources of the region In the National Interest.
3. Strike an unholy deal with the auto industry. Discourage the development of public transportation in your own country.
4. Convince U.S. citizens that the automobile is an indispensable part of The Good Life, the individual’s piece of The National Interest. Assure them that cheap oil is part of their birthright. Discourage all attempts at lasting alternative energy solutions.
5. Decide that Arabs and Persians don’t know what’s Good for Them. Offer technical assistance. Offer to relieve them of their natural resources. Choose their leaders for them and support their dominance of their citizens.
6. Collude with Great Britain to make Palestine a British Protectorate. It’ll be easier to hand over later, since the Palestinians already need “protecting.”
7. Buy into the idea that any one of the world’s tribes is truly God’s Chosen People. Use the 
Bible as an instrument of foreign policy. Ignore the fact that nearly every tribe on the globe sees itself as the Chosen People.
8. Simultaneously, ignore the Holocaust till after it’s had its way with 6 million-plus Jews. They’re the Chosen People, but not that Chosen. After all, Jesus is Lord!
9. Now that God’s Chosen People have been murdered, maimed, tortured, and enslaved, make nice. Give them a homeland, as long as it doesn’t have to be your own. Let the Chosen People protect the Palestinians.
10. As part of the PR for depriving the Palestinians of their homes, farms, orchards, etc., pretend that the whole area was an undeveloped desert, that nobody lived there. Repeat often.
11. Allow the new state of Israel to have armed forces. Give them money and sell them lots of arms.
12. Forbid Palestinians any right to a military to provide for the common defense. Label any efforts to gain defense as terrorism. Attack any Palestinian claims to rights as a refusal to accept the existence of Israel.
13. Develop policies designed to force out Palestinians. They are, after all, Arabs, and as such, inferior to God’s Chosen People. (See #1.) Ignore Palestinian pleas for autonomy.
14. Suggest that anyone who objects to these policies is anti-Semitic. It’s all very simple, after all, even if Arabs and Israelis are all classified as Semitic people.
15. Invade Iraq. They’re terrorists, too. Be sure to leave borders open after conquest. You’re gonna need those terrorists to justify parking your asses in their country. After all–they need our protection.
16. Threaten to invade Iran.
17. Do not talk to anyone with whom you disagree in the name of “not negotiating with terrorists.” Shrug off suggestions that you are acting like terrorists yourselves.
18. Mix thoroughly.
19. Add gasoline, fire, water, and serve.
Crossposted from Take Your Medicine.
Sphere: Related Contentisrael committing genocide in gaza
January 4, 2009 by Betmo · 5 Comments
i have been posting here and there on the israeli genocide in gaza and i came across this post from one of my blog buddies from the uk:
the letter
Open Letter to Barack Hussein Obama, President-elect of the United States of America
January 1, 2009
Dear Mr. President,
I did not vote for you in the Presidential Election because I am Malaysian.
But I consider myself one of your constituents because what you do or say will affect me and my country as well.
I welcome your promise for change. Certainly your country, the United States of America needs a lot of changes.
That is because America and Americans have become the most hated people in the world. Even Europeans dislike your arrogance. Yet you were once admired and liked because you freed a lot of countries from conquest and subjugation.
It is the custom on New Year’s day for people to make resolutions. You must have listed your good resolutions already. But may I politely suggest that you also resolve to do the following in pursuit of Change.
1) Stop killing people. The United States is too fond of killing people in order to achieve its objectives. You call it war, but today’s wars are not about professional soldiers fighting and killing each other. It is about killing people, ordinary innocent people by the hundreds of thousands. Whole countries will be devastated.
War is primitive, the cavemen’s way of dealing with a problem. Stop your arms build up and your planning for future wars.
2) Stop indiscriminate support of Israeli killers with your money and your weapons. The planes and the bombs killing the people of Gaza are from you.
3) Stop applying sanctions against countries which cannot do the same against you.
In Iraq your sanctions killed 500,000 children through depriving them of medicine and food. Others were born deformed.
What have you achieved with this cruelty? Nothing except the hatred of the victims and right-thinking people.
4) Stop your scientists and researchers from inventing new and more diabolical weapons to kill more people more efficiently.
5) Stop your arms manufacturers from producing them. Stop your sales of arms to the world. It is blood money that you earn. It is un-Christian.
6) Stop trying to democratize all the countries of the world. Democracy may work for the United States but it does not always work for other countries.
Don’t kill people because they are not democratic. Your crusade to democratize countries has killed more people than the authoritarian Governments which you overthrew. And you have not succeeded anyway.
7) Stop the casinos which you call financial institutions. Stop hedge funds, derivatives and currency trading. Stop banks from lending non-existent money by the billions.
Regulate and supervise your banks. Jail the miscreants who made profits from abusing the system.
8 ) Sign the Kyoto Protocol and other international agreements.
9) Show respect for the United Nations.
I have many other resolutions for change which I think you should consider and undertake.
But I think you have enough on your plate for this 2009th year of the Christian Era.
If you can do only a few of what I suggest, you will be remembered by the world as a great leader. Then the United States will again be the most admired nation. Your embassies will be able to take down the high fences and razor-wire coils that surround them.
May I wish you a Happy New Year and a great Presidency.
Yours Sincerely,
Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad
(Former Prime Minister of Malaysia)
i will link to my posts at my blog here, here, and here. there are interesting videos in the israeli citizens’ own words. contrary to what we get here for news, the israeli papers are printing the truth as to what is happening there. and there are thousands of israelis throughout the country- protesting and petitioning and marching against their own government. methinks that they have the same neocon issue there that we have had here- only they are called zionists.
US policy helped build Hamas’ power base.
January 2, 2009 by Dusty · 2 Comments
McClatchy has an interesting read up on the recent history of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Analysts draw a direct line between US/Israeli policies and the rise of Hamas in the region. As usual, the US screwed the pooch and instead of talking to the agressors, they push for military action instead. From the McClatchy writeup:
In August 2005, when Israel unilaterally withdrew from the narrow coastal territory, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised it would make Israel safer. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hailed the move as “historic.”
Israel had left behind a political vacuum, however. That, along with decisions by Israel, the U.S. and Palestinian rivals inadvertently boosted the militant Islamic group Hamas into power. Hamas is stronger than ever, and Israel’s air strikes risk bolstering it further, according to current and former U.S. officials, diplomats and analysts.
Then, in January 2006, the Palestinians, with strong backing from the Bush administration, held legislative elections. Over Israeli misgivings, Hamas — which has questioned Israel’s right to exist and which the U.S. and Israel consider terrorist group — was allowed to participate.
Hamas won a majority of seats, benefiting from the perceived corruption and incompetence of Abbas’s Fatah faction.
“The United States should have anticipated a result it didn’t like, and it should have played it better,” said Jon Alterman, of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“Hamas has much more power now than it did three years ago,” he said.
After the elections, the Bush administration began an effort to reverse the results, McClatchy reported in 2007, but it failed to weaken the group or persuade it to modify its hard-line views. As the months went on, Washington opposed Arab efforts to form a Palestinian unity government and pressed Abbas to confront Hamas.
In June 2007, after months of factional fighting, Hamas forces overran Gaza, ousting Fatah’s foreign-armed and trained security forces. The U.S. rounded up diplomatic and financial support for Abbas, and Israel responded by clamping down harder on Gaza.
Even the Arab states believe the only way to shut down Hamas is politically, not militarily. But the two important powers in the region…the US and Israel refuse to consider that method.
Damn fucking shame if you ask me. But then…our biggest purchaser of American weaponry wouldn’t be buying all that firepower would they? hmmm….
Sphere: Related Contentblogging where i am
December 30, 2008 by Betmo · 3 Comments
i am not a political blogger per se- i mean i certainly have blogged political issues for years but mostly, i try to blog around where i am at at any given time. at present, i am tapped out. i suspect many of us feel that way after living through the last 8 years. frankly, i don’t know that any of us ever really recovered from 9/11/01. no, i am not pulling a giuliani- whether it be foreign terrorists- or domestic as i believe, the attacks damaged the american psyche. having said that, i have seen the american spirit be ‘misunderestimated’ by the neocons time and again- and i won’t be sorry to see them out of positions of power come january. gone but not forgotten.
but as life intrudes on politics- i find myself overwhelmed by it. the crushing worry and loss is really taking its toll on me spiritually- and as supportive as my friends are- it’s much to handle. i won’t go into blow by blow- but finances and personal loss in the family recently- leaves a hole. being the sole support system for my family has emotionally wiped me out. sigh.
and then, i started thinking about all of the families in iraq and gaza and afghanistan and lebanon- displaced and homeless in many cases with loved ones missing or dead or wounded- and i thought how lucky i am to have such things in my life to worry about. apples and oranges i am sure- but human beings are all the same underneath. we all feel the same types of emotions- we all love our families (or hate them), we bleed red, and our hearts break or swell with joy. we are all people and we all share the same planet. and as hopeless and helpless as many american situations are- we have created so much more for those folks.
i haven’t written too much about the atrocities in gaza. mainly due to feeling the same white hot anger at the israeli government that i have felt towards the bushco cabal. i had to pick a battle and i chose to deal with the issues i felt i could have the most (little to none) control over the outcome. i guess i don’t really care that the israelis believe that israel was given to them by god. i guess i don’t care that they demand the right to exist as a jewish state. you see, they lost their credibility the moment that they stopped fighting terrorists and started wholesale genocide against the palestinians. there was a time when hamas and the palestinians committed terrorist acts against civilians in israel- and they were roundly condemned for that.
but that time is over. now, the israeli government- against the wishes of many israelis- have rounded the palestinians up and put them behind walls so that access is limited to them. that way, you see, folks in the outside world can’t see the forced starvation and horrible living conditions the arabic folks are living through. only the names of the ‘palestinian areas’ in israel are different- but forcing people to starve and go without basic necessities of life such as medical help and water/sanitation, etc. and walling them in- well, sounds an awful lot like a detention facility for thousands. forcing these people to only travel in certain areas with identification and under the careful guns of the army- sounds familiar also. yes- i am comparing it to the forced roundups of jews in europe during world war 2. the single biggest reason that so many jews returned to palestine to start with. within a generation- everything that they had lost and learned– had been lost again. they learned nothing.
so, while i continue to try and quiet the sadness and soothe my psyche- i have the luxury of food to eat, water to drink and wash with, garbage pickup, emergency rooms, bandaids, antibiotics, getting in my car and going where i want with no repercussions- or just staying home in my quiet neighborhood in my quiet home with those who love me and good friends. and i continue to marvel at the ugliness that can be human nature.
Sphere: Related ContentUsing a wrecking ball when a hammer will do the job.
December 28, 2008 by Dusty · Leave a Comment
This just freaks me the hell out. As of today, almost 300 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombs and bullets in this latest pissing contest between Hamas and Israel. Women and children, people, …they are killing civilians en masse over the death of one Israeli.
Methinks this is a form of genocide. In any case, Nobody’s right, if everybody’s wrong..
