Politics: War Atrocities

Goya, War

Because, as you know, this blog is dedicated to peace, to the end of war and its atrocities, to the hope of a brighter tomorrow when we will no longer throw our children — and everyone else's — into the gaping maw of Moloch.

The combat soldier, as an absolutely deprived person, responds to direct situational exigencies. [...] Deadening fear intermingles with acts of bravery. [...]

If enemy prisoners are taken, they may be subjected to atrocities in the rage of the battle or its immediate aftermath. The soldier's distaste of endangering civilians may be overcome by his fear that [the enemy], of any age or sex, can be responsible for his own death (Ed: Or the death of those of his comrades whom he has been trained to think of as his best and only friends.) Where the opportunity arises, looting often occurs. War souvenirs are frequently collected either to be kept personally or later sold to rear-echelon servicemen. (Italics added. Editorial note from ThePoliticalCat.)

— Charles C. Moskos, as cited inMalaya and Singapore During The Japanese Occupation

The "absolutely deprived person" status that is inflicted on servicemen as part of their basic training has the effect of deadening them to all that is human and humane. Apparently, such deadening no longer has the desired effect, for even these poor, pitiful humans retain some vestige of conscience and feeling. They come back from their war crimes with PTSD, and inflict upon their loved ones, neighbours, families, and society in general, the cost of rehabilitating them and dealing with their costly and painful suffering.

Thus, our armies now seek robots, "unmanned drones," that do not, and cannot, suffer any twinge of conscience about killing the innocent, the unarmed, the civilians who are so unfortunate as to live in a zone of war.

It is stated as a matter of fact in many of the memoirs written by PoWs in the Pacific Theater during WW II that their Korean and Taiwanese guards were often more brutal and inhumane than even the Japanese soldiers, who committed unparalleled war crimes in their imperialist expansion into Southeast Asia. Upon reading at greater length of the treatment meted out to these unfortunate "Imperial subjects" of Korea and Taiwan, it becomes clear that the dehumanization process to which these unfortunate "subjects" were subjected could only be remedied or stalled by inflicting upon their helpless prisoners torments that were at least as unpleasant as those that they themselves suffered.

Thus the cycle continues. Each person one rung up on the ladder of abuse directs their kicks and blows to those one rung below. Those at the very bottom of that ladder have no one upon whom to vent their frustrations and rage, and so turn them inward and punish each other and themselves, as they have been taught and shown to do.

Picasso, Guernica

When will humanity emerge from these dark ages? When will we evolve beyond the need of war? It must come soon, or we will surely destroy ourselves and all we hold dear. Iran announced the existence of a hidden uranium-refining facility, and everywhere, the neocons have crawled out of the woodwork demanding an immediate attack upon that unfortunate nation. Why? Because the government of the State of Israel, a bunch of neocon hacks and hawks to the last man, are "afraid" of the possibility that Iran might soon have nuclear weapons. Earliest estimates of this happening range from one to five years. Not that facts should get in the way of hysteria, of course.

Israel possesses an arsenal of nuclear weapons, but will neither confirm nor deny that it does so. Israel is not a signatory to the NNPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty). Iran is. Iran has notified the IAEA, as required by its membership in the IAEA, of its "secret" facility. Iran has also agreed to permit IAEA inspectors to assess its nuclear sites. Israel, not being a signatory to this, most important treaty, refuses to release any information whatsoever about what its doing with nuclear power. Israel is a hawkish state, constantly engaging in acts of hostility against its neighbours, supported by the U.S. to the tune of $10 million in taxpayer money PER DAY. In addition to obscene yearly quantities of military aid. Just this year, despite our own horrendous economic situation, we gave Israel nearly $3 billion in military aid.

The interests of the Israeli people are not being represented by their government, which prefers to use its own civilians as an excuse for further armament rather than negotiate peaceful solutions with its neighbours. Children of Abraham, of Hagar and Sarah, the time has come to beat your swords into plowshares. If you do not, then you will all be obliterated when the Third World War begins, because there are too many people who want it to begin on your doorstep. It is not a war that anyone will survive.

As Tom Lehrer sang, "We'll all go together when we go." Rather than contemplate the death of every living being on this planet, let us work together to a just solution. It can be done, if we all insist on it. Those Christian Dominionists who want Armageddon and The Rapture, do you think that teacher who said "Love thy neighbour as thyself; there is no greater commandment than [this]" would care for your efforts to create Armageddon?

Crossposted over at The Peace Tree

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World: News Summary

What's going on with the 51st State? Apparently, our tax dollars are, once again, paying for more militarism, aggression, war crimes, and the like. The Israeli papers are a lot more upfront and honest about this than our worthless fishwrap and birdcage liners over here.

From an article about the Israeli actions in Gaza:

"Better hit an innocent than hesitate to target an enemy," is a typical description by one unidentified soldier of his understanding of instructions repeated at pre-invasion briefings and during the 22-day operation, from Dec. 27 to Jan. 18.

"If you're not sure, kill. Fire power was insane. We went in and the booms were just mad," says another. "The minute we got to our starting line, we simply began to fire at suspect places. In urban warfare, anyone is your enemy. No innocents."

The 112-page report by Breaking the Silence includes testimonies of 30 soldiers "who served in all sectors of the operation".

Firing at known noncombatants, or at least suspected noncombatants. Thanks to the tax dollars we need so badly to fix our own broken economy.

And what is this bullshit? Israeli warships and submarines schlepping the Suez Canal? Even as the rest of the world is working to bring Iran back into the fold of nuclear supervision? Why does the State of Israel always have to act like a fucking outlaw? And why do they get away with it?

Here we'd like to stress once again that the State of Israel is a criminal, an aggressor, and a bunch of other really bad shit, but that does not, and should not, reflect on the Israeli people, many of whom speak out bravely and call their government to account for its misdeeds. If we were not paying to support the military hawks, Israel would have a greater chance of allowing the doves to speak the truth, and abiding by international laws. The Israeli people, our brothers and sisters in this struggle, do not benefit from the militaristic attitudes of the State any more than the American people benefited from the war in Iraq.

Meanwhile, Spiegel reports "rioting in France" around Bastille Day, with more than 300 cars turned into nice fiery cindery little mementoes. Of course, you have to read most of the article to find the two pertinent facts underlying this explosion of, um, self-expression. FTA:

Violence on the eve of Bastille Day has become a tradition in France and an outlet for disaffected young men to express their anger at French unemployment rates and a failed integration policy for ethnic minorities.

[...]

The Bastille Day riots follow three nights of anarchy on the streets of Firminy near Lyon, as youths protested amid reports of a 21-year-old Algerian man dying in police custody on Wednesday July 8.

[...]

More protestors took to the streets of Paris on July 13, claiming police brutality against activist film director Joachim Gatti who lost his right eye on July 8 -- allegedly having been shot by a police flash-ball gun.

Just skimming the article would leave one with the self-righteous impression that the excitable French, especially those of the younger persuasion, were simply as mad as they had long been reputed to be. Rather than, for example, the fact that the State thinks imposing worse penalties on minorities who have long been left to languish in a second, and more insulting, colonialism is a solution to the valid rage and fury that results as they watch their compatriots murdered and injured by the very instruments of that State. Meanwhile, the little Janus, Sarkozy, celebrated with Manmohan Singh complete with Indian soldiers. India, have you anything to say about these riots?

Only a note from Africa today, from the Republic of the Congo, where Raw Story reports that 66-year-old Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has ruled virtually unopposed in the Congo for the past 30 years, has won the "peaceful, fair, and free" elections. That the elections were "peaceful," so far as such things go in Third World nations, there is little doubt. As to "fair, and free," we at this fine establishment would like to reserve judgment, if only temporarily. When half the population barely has enough to eat, one suspects they will vote for whoever promises or offers food, and leave niceties such as long-term stability, civil rights, mass education, public health, and anti-corruption drives out of the picture.

The Non-Aligned Movement is in summit this week, according to a report from Raw Story. The Movement includes 118 member countries from the developing world, including India, whose Jawaharlal Nehru was the primary impetus behind this association of developing nations, and Egypt, whose Gamel Abdel Nasser was one of the first to respond to Nehru's call.

The body will be seeking to establish better protection for its member nations against the type of global economic meltdown that recently occurred. Also under discussion is the perennial issue of the UN Security Council, which has for decades been dominated by certain nations. On a positive note, Indian and Pakistani representatives to the council will be trying to restart the recently stalled peace talks. Go for it, guys.

When and how will Pakistan dig itself out of the hideous situation in which it currently finds itself? It is, at least in embryo, a failed state. And, it has, as my friend, a VN Vet, says, THE BOMB.

From Russia, Raw Story is reporting the abduction and murder of internationally known human rights activist Natalya Estemirova. Ms. Estemirova worked for Memorial, a Russian NGO. She was shot dead in Ingushetia. Reuters has more information about Ms. Estemirova. FTA:

Estemirova has been at the forefront of efforts to investigate human rights violations and (has) work(ed) for accountability in Chechnya for more than 10 years. Her efforts brought criticism from the Chechen authorities, including the republic's president Ramzan Kadyrov. Forces under his command have been accused of multiple and repeated human rights abuses, including killings, torture, and disappearances, yet few perpetrators have been held to account in Russia. In more than 100 judgments to date, the European Court of Human Rights has found Russia responsible for grave human rights violations in Chechnya, highlighting the lack of accountability for such crimes.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is reported to be outraged at the crime and has ordered a full investigation. This is more likely to yield results than a local government investigation in Chechnya, which is restive, therefore allowing such crimes to be carried out with impunity.

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World: US Scraps Meeting With Israel

ICHC FTW

Does this mean the 51st state will be getting a little less of our tax money for a while?

Raw Story is reporting that George Mitchell, the U.S. envoy to the middle-east has called off a meeting with Bibi (Netanyahu) because Israel is building in stolen Palestinian territory contrary to President Barack Obama's clearly stated position of some weeks ago.

Naturally, Bibi's lackeys are claiming they cancelled the meeting (sure, honey. You're getting your "resettlement" money from our taxes, you're gonna cancel a meeting. Sure).

The money quote, so to speak, from the article:

The mass-selling Yediot Aharonot had earlier quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying Washington issued a "stern" message to Netanyahu to halt all settlement activity on occupied Palestinian land.

"Once you've finished the homework we gave you on stopping construction in the settlements, let us know. Until then, there's no point in having (envoy George) Mitchell fly to Paris to meet you," the paper quoted the official as saying.

Israeli officials, with their usual levels of chutzpah, are claiming that the building is part of the "natural growth" in the settlements, but here's where Hillary Clinton is a total fucking champ. She basically told them to ESAD:

But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in May that President Barack Obama had made it clear during Netanyahu's visit to Washington that he wants no "natural growth exceptions" to his call for a settlement freeze.

Go Hillary! You can kick ass, you're the queen of kickass. Let's see if U.S. taxpayer dollars to Israel will dry up. We're sick of subsidizing their arrogance, their contempt for us, their thugly ways, their unwillingness to work with the rest of the world, their paranoia, rudeness, suspicion, and ingratitude.

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Politics: Telling It Like It Is

In case you hadn't already heard, our President has just warned Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's current and rabidly rightist leader, NOT to carry out a preemptive strike on Iran without the agreement thereto of the United States (my paraphrase — his exact words, according to Ha'aretz, were: "Don't surprise me with (an) Iran strike.")

Naturally, the rightwingnuttia of America is foaming at the mouth with their unconsidered, rageful, and rabid reaction. Loud cries of "fuck him," and "bomb 'em anyway," with no thought of the consequences. Although I suppose putting "thought" and "rightwingnuttia" in the same post ought to be the best example of oxymoronia.

Which leads me to believe that rightwingnuttia could not care less if the state of Israel and all its people, and all Jews whereever they may live, were to be wiped off the face of the earth tomorrow. They are just an excuse for the more rabid among them, to be used as a catspaw, with no value inherent in themselves except the ability to be used as a whipping post, as an excuse for military posturing, as a tool to permit this or that action against others, for example, the Muslims, or those who live in countries with vast oil resources. Because should Israel carry out ANY military action without the full support and military commitment of the United States, death and destruction for our Israeli brothers and sisters is sure to follow.

Sickened by the howling of these wretched beasts, I dug around and found within myself the wherewithal to post this comment on HuffPo, where I found the link to the Ha'aretz story:

This is a warning, not a request. One does not warn another without invoking consequences. What are the consequences if you warn someone not to do something and they do it anyway? You take away any privileges you might have previously afforded them, or any future benefits that you might award them. What does America have that Israel wants? Money. American money supports the troubled Israeli economy. Arms - American arms and armaments enable Israel to protect itself against hostile neighbours.

Israel engaged in two wars recently and lost them both. Israel's security is a matter of grave concern. Yet that concern must not outweigh pressing humanitarian concerns. President Obama has shown that he supports Israel by refusing to attend the recent conference at which Israel was vilified (in my opinion, not without grounds) for crimes against humanity. However, President Obama is not going to allow Israel to determine American foreign policy. This is a good thing. The tail should not wag the dog.

It is not unreasonable for President Obama to take such a stand. Many Americans do not wish to continue to support, financially, in a difficult economic time, an Israeli policy of expansion that continues to take land, water, and resources from Palestinian residents and give them to Israeli settlers. We all respect Israel's right to exist - with the exception of the most rabid anti-Israelis. But most of us also want peace in the Middle-East according to the agreements made half a century ago, signed and ratified by all parties thereto. Shalom, Salaam, let us live in peace. For peace benefits all, whereas war benefits only a few, and that few the worst among us.

Thanks to extreme pain (still?!) and the resulting heavy doses of medication, I'm not sure this makes much sense to me, much less anyone else.

Still, I think our President has done something most American leaders of past decades have been unable to do: he has told Israel, nay, warned Israel, that American support is not to be unconditionally assumed, and that American public opinion is tired of Israel's (1) refusal to engage in a good-faith process towards implementing the solution that Israel itself agreed to lo, these many years ago; (2) shameless meddling in American policy, domestic and foreign; (3) unwarranted assumption of unconditional access to the American taxpayer's assets; (4) acting as if laws agreed to by the entire international community do not apply to Israel alone, although everyone else should be bound by them. Well, this was long overdue. As a lifetime supporter of Israel, I am glad of this.

Israel must find a peaceful solution, because the martial solution puts the entire Israeli citizenry, and the Jewish people everywhere, at risk. Not all Jews are Israelis. Not all Jews want to live in Israel. Many have made their home elsewhere for generations, and have no wish to give it all up to return to Eretz Israel. Not all Jews support the policies of the Israeli government. Yet all Jews will pay the price for Israel's shortsighted policies, for some of those who oppose Israel will not hesitate to kill a Jew. Or many Jews.

Not even all Israelis support the Israeli government's policies, and many among them are courageous enough to call them what they really are, which is, mad, short-sighted, self-destructive. For the sake of the Children of Israel, the leaders must make peace with their brothers and neighbours, the Arabs. For are they not all the children of Abraham, and brothers belike?

I am very proud of my President today, for his courage and lucidity in speaking the truth to leaders who have so little care for their own people, who seek only to frighten them into perpetuating a cycle of hate and fear laid down a long time ago.

Enough!

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Politics: Telling It Like It Is

A happy confluence that will leave you with plenty to ponder: Bill Moyers talks to Glenn Greenwald and Jay Rosen about the old media and President Obama. Please to listen. Moyers is a true journalist, the likes of whom are long since history. You don't need an introduction to Glenn Greenwald, and if you do, take yourself over to Salon just to read his fine blog. Jay Rosen is a professor of journalism who blogs over at PressThink, and the impetus to the entire citizen-journalist movement that is (please deities it can't come too soon) wiping out the old media as typified by teh money tycoons like Rupert Murdoch (could you lose another $6 billion, please?).

LOLcattitude from ICHC

In other news, Republican Senators continue to chop away at the stimulus bill like the feculent asshats that they are. DailyKos blogger Jed L explains that each such cut lowers the number of jobs the bill can help to create. PLEASE contact these buttsuckers and let them know that you want a job, need a job, need that damn income, and if they don't vote to increase the stimulus spending, they will need to start worrying about a job right soon. Here's a list of what those putrid scumbuckets cut from the bill. You'll notice that it's heavy on health, energy, and environment-related stuff.

This fine blog will draw up a list of the Republican and Democratic senators running for re-election in 2010, together with information on how they voted on the issues close to our hearts. We'll let you know when that's ready. We have to combat this kind of attitude in Washington. They're happy to give our dollars to anyone who will blow them, but when we need health care, food, jobs, they give us the finger. Let's see about that.

For those of us who think what the President of the United States does don't matter globally, here's a fine refutation of that common (lack of) wisdom. What each of us does in our lives influences all others with whom we come in contact. The higher up the ladder we rank, the more people fall under our influence. Thus, while Bush was president, we had almost daily reports of police misconduct, and other countries felt free to pass draconian laws that affected their own people as much as anyone else. Now that Obama is President, we find police refusing to kick people out of their foreclosed homes, while leaders of other countries begin to follow our fine President's fine example and claw back bonuses and emoluments for the scumbag bankers who fucked up the world economy.


Finally, the Iranian PressTV is claiming that Netanyahu, should he win the Israeli elections, will "push Obama on Iran," and will be able to coax the US into either declaring war on Iran or underwriting a war on Iran. Well, Iranian press channels are doubtless biased, but we all know that Israel has been pushing throughout the entire Bush regime for war on Iran. The only remaining question has long been "When?" It's important that we not lose sight of our immediate goals of ending US military involvement abroad and taking care of our own economy and our own hungry, jobless, sick, and poor.

This means putting some time and energy into making it clear to Washington that Israel should not be dictating American foreign policy, and that America needs to heal her own wounds before incurring more for the benefit of Israel, which continues to be a drain on our taxpayer dollars to the tune of several billion a year. Basta! Enough of this shit already.

Bonus activism points: If you happen to have a few spare dollars sitting around and are in the mood to do something good somewhere, consider buying a copy of the barefoot doctor's manual, Where There is No Doctor and sending it to a community that needs it. Copies available from hesperian. For more information, contact hesperian on the net, or call them at 510-845-1447.

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World: Enough!

Image from AliyaAllZionists

Enough of what's going on in the Gaza strip. For all of you upset by the Israeli military action against the mostly civilian population of Gaza, we have to come up with something to do. It's useless wringing our hands and moaning and mourning. Israel has gone too far, this time.

Today, the Israeli military bombed the UN headquarters in the Gaza strip,

[...] engulfing the compound and a warehouse in fire and destroying thousands of pounds of food and humanitarian supplies intended for Palestinian refugees.

It was bad enough that, after the ceasefire ended in late December of 2008, Israel attacked Gaza which has suffered for nearly two years under an Israeli embargo that has prevented basic supplies like fuel, food, water, medicine, even concrete for the burial of bodies, from reaching the Palestinians of Gaza.

Despite the fact that the so-called "free and fair" elections held in Palestine resulted in the election of Hamas, Israel and its supporter and military paymaster the United States have refused to recognize Hamas as legitimately elected political leaders of Palestine. Had the US not pressed for the elections at the time that they were held, it is quite possible that Hamas would have lost the elections. However, once they were held, Hamas became the legitimately elected government and, as such, should have been accorded the basic courtesy extended to every elected government.

Why is it that we are willing to sit down with murderous dictators like Mugabe and Ferdinand "we love your adherence to democratic principles" Marcos, but refuse to negotiate with a fairly elected democratic government just because we don't like them?



For the record, I know quite well that Hamas once held the view that the State of Israel had no right to exist. But that State of Israel is long since gone, having gorged and bloated itself on Palestinian territory and squeezing the Palestinians into two tiny corners of what was once their land. At this point, Hamas is not capable of wiping out the State of Israel, and the more pragmatic among their leaders recognize that fact. These people SHOULD be courted and given a seat at the table while all the countries of that region sit down with the funders of this ludicrous and soul-destroying conflict to determine how to best effect a peace. There is no question of being unable to do this because the alternative is to murder every Palestinian alive no matter where they are to be found, and that is not a viable course of action.

Regardless of the willingness of Israel to engage in such acts, we can no longer afford to, financially, morally, intellectually, or socially, support such acts. Firstly, we don't have the money to keep paying the Israelis billions every year in social welfare and military supplies. Israel cannot survive without American taxpayer dollars at this point because a wartime economy does not thrive. The state of Israel needs to find a peacetime footing in which currency can be stabilized, economic prospects realized, jobs created, and monies exchanged. Then it can safely get off the American dole because heaven knows, Americans need their money to start repairing the damage that has been done to their own country. We would like, for example, to have a health care system just like Israel's. But we can't afford it because a lot of our money is paying for Israel's excellent medical system. Which I don't begrudge, unless it's at our expense.

Worse yet, our dollars are paying for bombs that blow up Palestinian babies, guns to shoot them, concrete walls and armed soldiers that forbid humanitarian assistance to them, checkpoints that harass and humiliate them multiple times daily as they walk to work or school. Jobs don't exist any more in Gaza. If we were to stop paying for these murderous crimes, we would have more money to repair our broken bridges and roads and give our own children health care. The Israelis could then be forced to negotiate with the Palestinians. Instead of financing the building of luxury homes for Israelis in land unlawfully seized from Palestinians, we could finance our own homeowners who are losing their homes.

We could make aid to Palestine and Israel conditional upon a peace settlement, a two-state solution, acceptance by Israel of multiple world court decisions that were preceded by free and fair trials and findings of fact and that have found against Israel and for the Palestinians. It is not too much to ask that Israel be a law-abiding member of the international community instead of a gangster, thug, and murderer that only gets away with these horrible crimes because we are playing their bully enforcer.

The process has begun in the EU. The EU is Israel's largest trading partner, and activists in European nations are calling upon their governments to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement (petition here). We here in the US can do the same.

Please take a moment or more to write, call, email, or fax your Congresscritters, both in the House and in the Senate, and tell them that you want them to ensure that your tax dollars do not go to Israel until Israel agrees to abide by the law and ceases bombing civilians, the UN, the Red Cross, schools housing only refugees, humanitarian aid stockpiles, ambulances, and the like.

Here is a list, compiled by activists in the UK, of brands that are either made in Israel or made by companies that unquestioningly supply Israel. Here is another that appears to focus on American companies and brands. Adbusters is calling on citizens and consumers to join in the boycott, pointing to the ever-inspiring Naomi Klein's call as a fine example. Professor Ilan Pappe has also said that the only way to stop this humanitarian crisis is to impose financial sanctions on the Israeli State. If anyone knows of any other information that should be widely distributed, please, pass it on to us and one of us will try to spread it around on this blog and in other fora.

The Global BDS Movement is calling on everyone to boycott, divest, and sanction Israel for its violations of human rights laws in Palestine. I believe firmly in wallet pains as an instructive action. People who don't give a fuck about human rights suddenly care a lot if they start losing money as a result. We managed to overcome apartheid in South Africa through a combination of boycott, divest, and sanction. We can bring peace to Palestine/Israel the same way. As a consumer, please boycott anything made in Israel, or by companies that have ties to Israel. Check with your local manufacturers whether they support Israel. Not Israel's right to exist, which we at this fine blog support wholeheartedly, but Israel's current and past violations of the precepts of international law and human rights.


Note: Look for the digits 729 at the beginning of the bar code on any products you buy. 729 indicates that the product was manufactured in Israel. Talk to your local grocery store or deli if they carry such products. Do not buy them and tell your store why you will not buy them. Tell your friends to look out for this barcode as well.

Here are many other sites involved in the boycott, with helpful hints about how to go about registering your feelings about the Gaza situation.

Once again, I want to say — no, not that some of my best friends are Jewish — that I have been pro-Israel all my life from the time I was a child, when I first heard about the Holocaust from my father, who told me that it was my moral obligation to ensure that such a thing would never happen again. I cannot support what Israel is doing to the Palestinians, but that does not change my support for the right to existence of the Israeli state. I cannot condone crimes against Israel or against Jews based on what the criminals in the IDF and the government of Israel are doing. Many Jews and many Israelis are also protesting and calling for a boycott. Please do not direct your anger at Jewish people, whether religious or secular. That helps no one, and especially not the Palestinians. What we need is to do something. We need to do it in a peaceable and law-abiding manner, but we also need to let the Israeli government and its puppets in the United States know that we are neither blind nor stupid and we want an end to the conflict in Gaza and to the flagrant murder of civilians.

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World: Gaza Brings Out Teh Stupid

Wherever they've been hiding. Although, being stupid, most of them are publicly flaunting their stupid in great revolting gobs.



For those of you who just can't bear to read the depressing news, we have Serious Cute at the end of this post. Go ahead. Skip to the video. See if I care.

Here, for example, walking dildo and successful Zippy the Pinhead impersonator Bill Kristol, a Wingnut Welfare recipient if I ever saw one, bleats about how Israel's invasion of Gaza is a great favour to Obama. I mean, c'mon, you worthless impostor of humanity. Why not pull off the mask and bodysuit and tell us all about relationships on your planet, someplace far, far away from our galaxy (I fervently hope)? Because by all that's holy you haven't a fucking compassionate bone in your body to come up with shite like this.

"If you care about the peace process you should want Israel to embarrass and humiliate Hamas. That's the only chance -- there would be no peace process if Hamas were governing Gaza.

You pathetic little pig. I can't wait for you and Bush and Dick and all of you worthless ambulatory turds to fall off the world stage. Break a leg, fella. In fact, break all of them. Jeeze!

People are dying in their hundreds and you and your fellow Neocons are burping up this crap. Meanwhile, your associates in the halls of power have used their remaining muscle to prevent an immediate ceasefire, preferring to turn a blind eye to reports of Israel firing on Red Cross personnel and vehicles, of Israel refusing to allow medical aid to reach the victims of their bombings, many of them little children.



Even as your other dirtbag friends are running ads on American TV networks begging for aid to Israel, which is the major recipient of US taxpayer money. Which they're using to bomb little children, pregnant women, sick, elderly, and disabled people. Meanwhile, protohuman slime molds named Jack Abramoff and Xtianist pastor Hagee are behind this whole ad scam. Knowing the two of them and their dubious associations, chances are if you send them any money it's going directly into their own bank accounts. People like Hagee could care less if the Jewish people are wiped out in a second holocaust, since that will bring them closer to the Rapture they all work towards and pray for.

Even as our 401(k)s are turning into 101(k)s, Raw Story reports that

The administration of President George W. Bush alone has provided over 21 billion dollars in U.S. security assistance over the last eight years, including 19 billion dollars in direct military aid as freebies.

So while we, the taxpayers, are cutting back on all our expenses, begrudging money for the movies or dinner out, forgoing new clothes, selling stuff we don't need or use, putting off vacations and needed home repairs, and even our goddamned health care — the Israeli government is getting billions of OUR dollars and! AND! using our latest and greatest military offerings to slaughter others in our names.

They're using our top-notch military hardware to retaliate against home-made rockets and bombs that "traumatize" people. Their response to these pitiful weapons, which are the epitome of FAIL, is to kill. For every Israeli killed so far, over 100 Palestinians have paid with their lives. The entire country is being punished for the acts of a few.

And you wonder why there is an al Qaeda. The article also states that while the U.S. military gives the latest weapons and weapons technology to Israel, it also sells such weapons (after they're tested on the Palestinians and the Lebanese by Israel) at hugely inflated prices to the Arab nations. That's a bitter pill to swallow, eh, knowing that you're subsidizing the killing of your co-religionists, or tribe, or fellow ethnics, or whatever you want to call them?

We don't even need to remind ourselves of the Israeli military's readiness and willingness to attack American troops, unarmed American protestors, and humanitarian aid workers and medical teams.

Meanwhile, malcontents in Lebanon have begun firing rockets into Northern Israel. Holy quacking duckshit. I can't entirely blame them, it's gotta be a small group or even random individuals who are sick of seeing what's happening to Gaza. The Israeli elections will be held in a month and the leaders are trying to terrify the people and play on their fears to win by outdoing each other in killing Palestinians. I guess some Lebanese feel strongly enough to do something about it. Hezbollah was quick to distance themselves from these acts, as was Hamas. Given the fact that in the last encounter between Lebanon and Israel, Hezbollah conducted a very disciplined campaign, I tend to believe them. Besides, it's a lousy three fucking shells, yaknow?

Meanwhile, our Congresscritters strive to prove that they have but one neuron between the lot of them, by offering "staunch and unwavering support for Israel [...] recognizing its "inalienable right" to defend itself from attacks by Hamas."

Give it a rest, you feeble fucks. You can't even take care of the shitload of business that's been dumped on your workdesk, and now you're all fighting to get up on the nearest table so you can wave your teenie weenies at the press. Shut the fuck up already. Get ready to prosecute Bush, Cheney, and the entire criminal cabal. Figure out what to do about the totally fucked military situation. Come up with green alternatives to the transport money cities and states are demanding. Figure out how more of us can get decent fucking health care. Close the tax loopholes that allow these fucking CEOs to assrape us all without the benefit of lube even as they send our jobs overseas in the fucking hundreds of thousands. Jesus fucking J.H. Christ and his black brother Harry! You've got me so fucking mad I can't even stop to take my pain meds. You worthless POS just voted your own selves a sweet fucking pay raise out of our pockets. Work for our goddamned money, you louts. The free ride is SO over.

That limpdick closeted fairy queen Mitch McConnell is prancing around on the stage allowing as how the war and deaths are all the fault of those nasty nasty Hamas Islamists. WTF is that about? Can't someone put a cork in him? Mitch, you ambulatory rectum, don't you have enough work to do?

Meanwhile, that motherfucking asshole (man, I'd love to put HIS dick in a box. I'd throw the rest of him into the compactor and mail the box to his Mrs.) Richard "Dick" Cheney has the outright fucking GALL to tell us that Bush's actions are not illegal because if they were he would've been impeached. What kind of circular logic is THAT, you infernal spawn of Satan? Wipe the blood off your chin before giving us your answer. Foul, ancient, walking rottenness. He demeans everything good, noble, admirable, and beautiful about humanity just by his existence. Dick, you and your rotten brood should be swept aside, root and branch, into the dustheap of history.

But wait, here's the best part: Darth has the unmitigated gall to tell us that he's a "warm, lovable" sort of guy who had hardly any influence at all in the WH. Georgie made all the decisions, he says now. Remember, this is the guy who admitted authorizing torture. Somebody must've put acid in his metamucil.

And as the number of Palestinians, mostly children, killed in Gaza climbs over 700, Tom Cruise had this to say about the death of Jett Travolta, son of his friend John Travolta. All death is horrific. Why aren't more people speaking out about the parents in Palestine who have to bury their children? Not to take away anything from Mr. Travolta's pain, I'm sure he's a terrific father and absolutely loves and adores his children, but are American children more valuable than Palestinian children? Where are all those "pro-life" people now when babies are being slaughtered halfway across the world? Starved to death, denied medical care, torn apart by bombs. Won't you people speak up? Or are only some children deserving of life?

Enough with ranting. Here's a cute chick we can all ogle:

Stumble It!

World: Eyeless in Gaza

From the New York Times

Promise was that I
Should Israel from Philistian yoke deliver;
Ask for this great Deliverer now, and find him
Eyeless in Gaza at the Mill with slaves,
Himself in bonds under Philistian yoke;
Samson Agonistes, John Milton

One — this one, anyway — can't help wondering what the fuck is going on in Gaza this week. Why is Israel bombing, shooting, and sending the sixth largest and best equipped army in the world into Gaza, the refuge of 1.3 million Palestinians, most of whom are unarmed civilians? Some 400,000 of that population lives in refugee camps funded by the UN.

Israel has bombed the power plants, water and sewage treatment facilities, and restricted movement in and out of Gaza which has essentially become the world's largest standing concentration camp. Why? What is this about? And why is Israel getting away with this starkly inhumane treatment?

Before you start lecturing me about what the Palestinians have done to bring this upon themselves, stop. No. I'm well aware of the tortuous politics of the Middle East (or West Asia, if you prefer). Here's a timeline of the events leading up to today's report of tanks entering the much-bombed and repeatedly destroyed strip of Gaza.

This is the most recent mapping of the conflict. Its roots go back all the way to the fight of two desert tribes over scarce land and water resources. Or perhaps, given the Jewish Diaspora under Rome, only as far back as the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which established in Palestine a "home" for the Jewish people with a guarantee of "civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine." Of course, in the intervening years, Israel has repeatedly taken land and scarce water from the Palestinians, refused the refugees that it has created the right of return (thereby ensuring that their lands and goods, if any, become the property of the state of Israel), and reduced the "land of Palestine" to a series of narrow unconnected strips with no sovereignty and severely restricted movement.

This fine map courtesy of aucegypt.edu

It was generous of the British to so dispose of the land and the fruits of the labour of others.

As a lifelong supporter of Israel, I long admired the state for its tenacity, its refusal to contemplate surrender or nonexistence, its bravery in the face of daunting odds. But there is a huge difference between fighting the remnants of the great Turkish empire and an assault upon a defenseless civilian population when you have the best army and armaments that the contents of the American Treasury can buy.

What is now going on in Gaza is nothing short of despicable. Yes, Israel has a right to exist. But nobody has a right to rain bombs on the heads of women, old people, children, noncombatant civilians. To those who seek to apologize for Israel's actions by claiming that it is Hamas, the "terrorists," who hide their bombs and guns behind the bodies of civilians, let me point out that Gaza is currently the most densely populated place in the world. Where exactly could Hamas locate their weapons of self-defense away from civilians? Why should they give up their pitifully ineffective weapons when the State of Israel kills 100 Palestinians for every Israeli that is killed? How can they trust Israel to safeguard their rights, when Israel brazenly destroys their homes, orchards, lands, wells, and their children?

It is well documented that Israel has eaten away at the "civil rights" of the Palestinians as well as at their territory. The Western Powers created the State of Israel as a salve for their collective guilt of a thousand years of pogroms, discrimination, hatred, bloodshed, killing, concentration camps, and Final Solutions. Why did they choose to carve out for the victims of their evil a "home" in a place already occupied by others? Why, since they were presumably moved by a generous spirit, did they not generously give up their own damned land, or some portion thereof?

They have discriminated against the Roma (gypsies) in much the same way, for nearly the same length of time. Yet they do not feel obliged to give the Gypsies a new home (assuming that they could find a location to which they could trace their historical roots). They prefer to leave them to the tender mercies of their fellow Europeans.

There is no honour in this battle; nothing of which to feel proud. This is not like the fight over the Golan Heights, the Six-Day War, in which Israel took on multiple armed foes and triumphed. This is a disgrace. Gaza has been cut off from the rest of the world for years now. Deprived of food, water, sewage treatment facilities, light, power, medicine, basic dignity. To attack an armed enemy and prevail is a mighty feat. To attack a weakened toothless civilian rabble of children and women — that is a disgrace and a shame.

Read what the Gazans have to say. It indicts the Israeli Army very effectively.

And not just the Israeli Army. The current occupant of the White House, the most wretched to occupy that space, has given Israel his full permission to indulge in this disgraceful carnage; asking only, in the most timid of voices, that Israel "try hard to avoid civilian casualties," even as reports tell us that Israel's air strikes over the past week have killed more than 400 Palestinians, wounded many more. And even as I write this, Israeli tanks are rumbling into the beleaguered Gaza strip.

The only good news to report in the midst of this revolting ongoing Holocaust upon the Palestinians is that finally, the scales seem to be falling from everyone's eyes. I can no longer support Israel. I will always support the right of the Israeli people and the State of Israel to exist, but that existence must now be tempered with a verifiable demonstration of their commitment to civil rights for Palestinians, peace with their neighbours, and a return of Palestinian land and property.

Rest assured, those of you who are demonstrating against Israel's unacceptable military actions, that millions of Jews, whether Israeli, American, or other, and countless millions of people of every nation, ethnicity, and faith or lack thereof stand with you. Israel can no longer whitewash these crimes against humanity.

The blindness of the Israeli hawks who willingly lead their own people into the role of catspaw for the American military-industrial complex is sad to see. So great a nation, deluded by its failure to recognize that there is no military solution to the Gordian knot that binds it.

Stumble It!