Category: Archive

The End is Near – but first a commercial

admin /24 July, 2006

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14151.htm

By William Blum

There are times when I think that this tired old world has gone on a few years too long. What’s happening in the Middle East is so depressing. Most discussions of the eternal Israel-Palestine conflict are variations on the child’s eternal defense for misbehavior — "He started it!" Within a few minutes of discussing/arguing the latest manifestation of the conflict the participants are back to 1967, then 1948, then biblical times. I don’t wish to get entangled in who started the current mess. I would like instead to first express what I see as two essential underlying facts of life which remain from one conflict to the next:

1) Israel’s existence is not at stake and hasn’t been so for decades, if it ever was, regardless of the many de rigueur militant statements by Arab leaders over the years. If Israel would learn to deal with its neighbors in a non-expansionist, non-military, humane, and respectful manner, engage in full prisoner exchanges, and sincerely strive for a viable two-state solution, even those who are opposed to the idea of a state based on a particular religion could accept the state of Israel, and the question of its right to exist would scarcely arise in people’s minds. But as it is, Israel still uses the issue as a justification for its behavior, as Jews all over the world use the Holocaust and conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.
2)

In a conflict between a thousand-pound gorilla and a mouse, it’s the gorilla which has to make concessions in order for the two sides to progress to the next level. What can the Palestinians offer in the way of concession? Israel would reply to that question: "No violent attacks of any kind." But that would still leave the status quo ante bellum — a life of unmitigated misery for the Palestinian people forced upon them by Israel. Peace without justice.

New Yorkers swelter in blackout

admin /24 July, 2006

With Europe and the US sweltering in one of the hottest summers on record, one hundred thousand New Yorkers are suffering under a blackout. The blackout was caused by a series of faults stemming from overload due to the intense heat. Read the full story  

Evangelical Christians plead for Israel

admin /24 July, 2006

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5193092.stm

By Richard Allen Greene

A week into one of the most severe crises the Middle East has seen in years, Israel is getting an influx of support from an unusual source.

More than 3,400 evangelical Christians have arrived in Washington to lobby lawmakers as part of the first annual summit of Christians United for Israel.

Delegates have come from all 50 states and have 280 meetings on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Pastor John Hagee said.

Pastor Hagee, the main organiser, said the event was the first of its kind.

"For the first time in the history of Christianity in America, Christians will go to the Hill to support Israel as Christians," he said.

The event was planned months ago, and is not a direct response to the ongoing violence in the region.

US hawks smell blood

admin /24 July, 2006

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HG19Ak01.html

By Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON – Seeing a major opportunity to regain influence lost as a result of setbacks in Iraq, prominent neo-conservatives are calling for unconditional US support for Israel’s military offensives in Gaza and Lebanon and "regime change" in Syria and Iran, as well as possible US attacks on Tehran’s nuclear facilities in retaliation for its support of Hezbollah.

What Does Israel Want?

admin /24 July, 2006

Ilan Pappe

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/printer5003.shtml

Imagine a group of high ranking generals who simulated for years Third World War scenarios in which they can move huge armies around, employ the most sophisticated weapons in their disposal and enjoy the immunity of a computerized headquarters from which they can direct their war games. Now imagine that they are informed that in fact there is no Third World War and their expertise is needed to calm down some of the nearby slums or deal with soaring crime in deprived townships and impoverished neighborhoods. And then imagine – in the final episode in my chimerical crisis – what happens when they find out how irrelevant have their plans been and how useless are their weapons in the struggle against the street violence produced by social inequality, poverty and years of discrimination in their society. They can either admit failure or decide none the less to use the massive and destructive arsenal at their disposal. We are witnessing today the havoc wreaked by Israeli generals who opted for latter course of action.

I have been teaching in the Israeli universities for 25 years. Several of my students were high ranking officers in the army. I could see their growing frustration since the outbreak of the first Intifada in 1987. They detested this kind of confrontation, called euphemistically by the gurus of the American discipline of International Relations: ‘low intensity conflict’. It was too low to their taste. They were faced with stones, molotov bottles and primitive arms which required a very limited use of the huge arsenal the army has amassed throughout the years and did not test at all their ability to perform in a battlefield or a war zone. Even when the army used tanks and F-16s, it was a far cry from the war games the officers played in the Israeli Matkal – headquarters – and for which they bought, with American tax payer money – the most sophisticated and updated weaponry existing in the market.

George W is an imbecile

admin /24 July, 2006

Cenk Uygur
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/the-ugly-truth-our-presi_b_25257.html

You know it, I know it and the American people know it. But everyone is afraid to say it. They say it privately, but people are afraid of saying it publicly because you will be branded as a liberal, elite, intellectual snob. But believe me, you don’t have to be an intellectual to see how painfully stupid our president is.

Just look at the conversation he is having with world leaders at the G-8 summit. Mikes picked up the causal talk between the world leaders. Forget that Bush appears to have three sandwiches in his mouth while talking. Forget that he calls out to the Prime Minister of Britain as if he is Flounder in "Animal House." Forget that he uses profanity. I don’t give a shit about those things.