So, no, the creation of Israel was not just to the Palestinians. Arab nations fought against the move, and Israel claimed even more land after the war. This is really interesting because new international laws after WWII prohibits countries from acquiring territories after a war, but that is just what Israel did. Actually a lot of the claims Israel has made about territory have not been accepted in the wider international community, but no one seems to take action against Israel, in fact, the world seems mystically beholden to Israel's whims...and I have to conclude that this seems to be based on two factors:
1. Religious bias. Christian nations seem to favor Israel no matter what. Which is really weird because Christianity is based on Jesus being the son of the greatest power, and Jewish people do not believe that Jesus is that son. They believe they are the chosen people, not Christians. So, is this bias for Israel some attempt to gain favor with the favored people? Anyhow, it is very confusing to me.
2. The US and its other allies want to have some foothold in the Middle East. The US has systematically blocked Arab nations from forming an Arab Nation. Think about it, this is where civilization was said to start, where mathematics was born, the countries have had the financial and political power of oil. There is financial and intellectual power here, with a rich culture behind it. There is nothing this area lacks to be a power in the world except for political stability, and the US seems to be set against that happening.
Keep in mind, my focus here is Palestine. Palestine, though promised statehood, has no state and has been steadily losing land promised to it in the partition since Israels inception. Arab nations wanted to fight for Palestine, but US and allied interests prevented that. That leaves Palestine with one big enemy and no practical allies. A people without a way to address their grievances. This ability to address grievances is something American thought holds dear to a just way of life, but we do not afford it to Palestine. Consequentially, people without a way to address grievances often resort to violence.
So, what is this Arab Nation? and what did we do to stop it?
I'll leave today with these general thoughts and provide some historical evidence tomorrow. Small bites are better for this touchy subject.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Back to Middle East Justice
I wanted to continue with this thread after such a forceful post on Saturday. I will be focusing on the Middle East and terrorism for a the next many posts.
I don't share the religious comradery for Israel nor the hyped paranoia against Arab countries that the rest of the Western political world obviously has. The dynamics the West has with the Arab world is key to our most recent wars and the threat of terrorism around the globe. Where to start this conversation, though? Let's start very simply from the beginning. The creation of Israel. I cannot say the creation of Israel and Palestine, because Palestinians do not have a nation state to identify with (and that is part of the problem).
Why was Israel created?
1. After WWII, it became really unpopular for the dominant powers of the world to have imperial colonies, so they countries systematically set 'free' previously colonized geographic regions...one of them being Britain's Palestinian Mandate.
2. Antisemitism was rampant, before, during and after the holocaust- and not just in Germany, but around the world. Many countries refused repatriation of Jewish people and many Jewish people feared to return to previously hostile communities.
So, the international community just DECIDED to create the state of Israel. Protests of the Palestinian people were known, but no diplomatic efforts were made to resolve these seeds of terror before they magically created the new homeland for the Jewish people.
There are many states which were created this way, leaders of dominant nations in a board room with a map and ruler just carving out states without thinking about the social aspect of what they were doing. This strategy is the root of many war torn nations.
So the question I pose is, "Was the initial action of creating the state of Israel a just action toward the Palestinians?"
Let's just start there.
I don't share the religious comradery for Israel nor the hyped paranoia against Arab countries that the rest of the Western political world obviously has. The dynamics the West has with the Arab world is key to our most recent wars and the threat of terrorism around the globe. Where to start this conversation, though? Let's start very simply from the beginning. The creation of Israel. I cannot say the creation of Israel and Palestine, because Palestinians do not have a nation state to identify with (and that is part of the problem).
Why was Israel created?
1. After WWII, it became really unpopular for the dominant powers of the world to have imperial colonies, so they countries systematically set 'free' previously colonized geographic regions...one of them being Britain's Palestinian Mandate.
2. Antisemitism was rampant, before, during and after the holocaust- and not just in Germany, but around the world. Many countries refused repatriation of Jewish people and many Jewish people feared to return to previously hostile communities.
So, the international community just DECIDED to create the state of Israel. Protests of the Palestinian people were known, but no diplomatic efforts were made to resolve these seeds of terror before they magically created the new homeland for the Jewish people.
There are many states which were created this way, leaders of dominant nations in a board room with a map and ruler just carving out states without thinking about the social aspect of what they were doing. This strategy is the root of many war torn nations.
So the question I pose is, "Was the initial action of creating the state of Israel a just action toward the Palestinians?"
Let's just start there.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Tax CUTS!
On yesterday's Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer interviewed Senators Dick Durban (D) and Jon Kyle (R) about pressing issues being fought over this lame duck session. Namely, extending the Bush era tax cuts, extending unemployment benefits and the New START treaty. Mostly, the conversation was around tax cuts.
In an exasperating exchange Republican Kyle kept saying 'I don't know why people are referring to these tax RATES as tax CUTS! They are simply an extension of the tax rate that has been in effect for the past decade!'
The sober Democrat just kept referring to them that way, as cuts, while Bob Schieffer caved into Kyle's forcefulness and started calling them rates (he switched back to cuts when the segment with the senators was over).
What is going on here!!!
Why, Senator Kyle, are they called tax CUTS?? I will tell you:
In 2001, Bush Jr. enacted sweeping tax legislation including a bundle of tax credits and tax CUTS. The tax cuts removed some $700 billion from revenue streams into the US budget. This legislation has a SUNSET rule, which means the legislation will expire unless further action is taken by congress.
Why, one may ask, does this legislation have a sunset rule? Because of the Congressional Budget Act, which allows legislation to be blocked if the said legislation has a significant negative impact on the deficit in a ten year term. If the Bush tax CUTS did not have a sunset rule, the legislation most likely would not have passed in the first place, because of the enormous amounts of money it took from the budget.
So, you see, Senator Kyle, tax CUTS don't magically turn into not-cuts just because the said tax CUTS have been in effect for a decade.
Did someone say DEFICIT? Isn't that the hallmark of these newly-fiscally-saved Republicans??? Extending the Bush tax CUTS for the wealthiest of Americans is going to add billions PER YEAR to our deficit.
Now as noted in earlier blogs, I favor tax reform, and not taxing the beegesus out of wealthier citizens, but people NOW IS NOT THE TIME to take such reforming measures. The supply side of our economy is flush with cash, they can create jobs, but there is NO DEMAND. This is not the time for supply side economics to dominate.
Meanwhile, they are blocking urgent legislation to extend unemployment benefits and ratify the New START Treaty. Republican Senator Kyle so much as said so on Face the Nation, commenting that IF they can get tax CUTS for the wealthy, they will consider extending the unemployment benefits (unemployment benefits=demand and providing for the public good. Unemployed would otherwise seek assistance through other government programs).
The New START treaty? Not important, says Kyle.
So much for national security and fiscal responsibility for our born again Republicans. Looks like they are just looking out for their rich buddies. What frauds. Mean, lying Republicans. Are these really the people we want in control of our government? No.
But what about the Democrats? Why are they SOOO wimpy! Where are real leaders??
Rise, leaders, from wherever you may be and help our struggling nation.
In an exasperating exchange Republican Kyle kept saying 'I don't know why people are referring to these tax RATES as tax CUTS! They are simply an extension of the tax rate that has been in effect for the past decade!'
The sober Democrat just kept referring to them that way, as cuts, while Bob Schieffer caved into Kyle's forcefulness and started calling them rates (he switched back to cuts when the segment with the senators was over).
What is going on here!!!
Why, Senator Kyle, are they called tax CUTS?? I will tell you:
In 2001, Bush Jr. enacted sweeping tax legislation including a bundle of tax credits and tax CUTS. The tax cuts removed some $700 billion from revenue streams into the US budget. This legislation has a SUNSET rule, which means the legislation will expire unless further action is taken by congress.
Why, one may ask, does this legislation have a sunset rule? Because of the Congressional Budget Act, which allows legislation to be blocked if the said legislation has a significant negative impact on the deficit in a ten year term. If the Bush tax CUTS did not have a sunset rule, the legislation most likely would not have passed in the first place, because of the enormous amounts of money it took from the budget.
So, you see, Senator Kyle, tax CUTS don't magically turn into not-cuts just because the said tax CUTS have been in effect for a decade.
Did someone say DEFICIT? Isn't that the hallmark of these newly-fiscally-saved Republicans??? Extending the Bush tax CUTS for the wealthiest of Americans is going to add billions PER YEAR to our deficit.
Now as noted in earlier blogs, I favor tax reform, and not taxing the beegesus out of wealthier citizens, but people NOW IS NOT THE TIME to take such reforming measures. The supply side of our economy is flush with cash, they can create jobs, but there is NO DEMAND. This is not the time for supply side economics to dominate.
Meanwhile, they are blocking urgent legislation to extend unemployment benefits and ratify the New START Treaty. Republican Senator Kyle so much as said so on Face the Nation, commenting that IF they can get tax CUTS for the wealthy, they will consider extending the unemployment benefits (unemployment benefits=demand and providing for the public good. Unemployed would otherwise seek assistance through other government programs).
The New START treaty? Not important, says Kyle.
So much for national security and fiscal responsibility for our born again Republicans. Looks like they are just looking out for their rich buddies. What frauds. Mean, lying Republicans. Are these really the people we want in control of our government? No.
But what about the Democrats? Why are they SOOO wimpy! Where are real leaders??
Rise, leaders, from wherever you may be and help our struggling nation.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Holy Israel!
So much has happened since I took a break, I didn't know where to start, but Israel is a great topic. A topic of conversation that needs restructuring in the US.
I had previously planned on blogging on this issue under the title, Middle East Justice (as opposed to Middle East Peace), but Holy Israel! have you seen what has culminated now? I would expect a people who went through the holocaust to be sensitive to racial profiling and abhor the creation of detention centers for an 'other' race of people to prevent 'diluting' culture. But, Holy Israel! that is what they are doing to Arabs.
The Israeli government passed a measure to create detention centers of African migrants, saying that too many people are flooding in from Egypt, but there is an undercurrent of racism and anti-Arab threats coming from powerful religious leaders in the state and political leaders outright say that they don't want Arabs diluting Jewish culture.
More astounding, orthodox Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, is telling people in the northern area of Tzfat, not to rent to people of the Arab race. He says Tzfat is a holy place for Jewish people and that they should not provide any place for gentiles. This in the face of a 20% Arab population in Israel. Well, according to the modern Jewish leadership, there is no place for Palestinians- even sections promised to the Palestinians in the original partition. Arabs, and those who house them, who live in Tzfat are getting death threats, and good, reasonable Jewish people are being forced to stand up to their leaders. Leaders who bring the specter of the holocaust, only with blood on Jewish hands.
Holy Israel?
In other related news, powerful religious and political leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who called for the annihilation of Arabs back in 2001, commented this October that he would agree to a moratorium on building in the West Bank (an area partitioned to the Palestinians, with the exception of Jerusalem) only if the US promised that this would be the last moratorium.
More on our unreasonable political coupling with Israel in a different post, suffice to say for now that our loyal alliance with Israel has and is spilling over into a very unjust and dangerous relationship with other actors on the world stage.
P.S.
Maybe the reason that there have been so many references to Hitler recently is because of the alarming incidents of fascist sentiments cropping up in political news, and being accepted as tolerable by the masses. This also in a future post on fear and nationalism.
God save us from ourselves.
I had previously planned on blogging on this issue under the title, Middle East Justice (as opposed to Middle East Peace), but Holy Israel! have you seen what has culminated now? I would expect a people who went through the holocaust to be sensitive to racial profiling and abhor the creation of detention centers for an 'other' race of people to prevent 'diluting' culture. But, Holy Israel! that is what they are doing to Arabs.
The Israeli government passed a measure to create detention centers of African migrants, saying that too many people are flooding in from Egypt, but there is an undercurrent of racism and anti-Arab threats coming from powerful religious leaders in the state and political leaders outright say that they don't want Arabs diluting Jewish culture.
More astounding, orthodox Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, is telling people in the northern area of Tzfat, not to rent to people of the Arab race. He says Tzfat is a holy place for Jewish people and that they should not provide any place for gentiles. This in the face of a 20% Arab population in Israel. Well, according to the modern Jewish leadership, there is no place for Palestinians- even sections promised to the Palestinians in the original partition. Arabs, and those who house them, who live in Tzfat are getting death threats, and good, reasonable Jewish people are being forced to stand up to their leaders. Leaders who bring the specter of the holocaust, only with blood on Jewish hands.
Holy Israel?
In other related news, powerful religious and political leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who called for the annihilation of Arabs back in 2001, commented this October that he would agree to a moratorium on building in the West Bank (an area partitioned to the Palestinians, with the exception of Jerusalem) only if the US promised that this would be the last moratorium.
More on our unreasonable political coupling with Israel in a different post, suffice to say for now that our loyal alliance with Israel has and is spilling over into a very unjust and dangerous relationship with other actors on the world stage.
P.S.
Maybe the reason that there have been so many references to Hitler recently is because of the alarming incidents of fascist sentiments cropping up in political news, and being accepted as tolerable by the masses. This also in a future post on fear and nationalism.
God save us from ourselves.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
A Poem for Republicans that explains Democrats
Those mean Republicans! I knew why the Dems and others never yelled back or called names like the Republicans do (even though they deserve a novel of reprise), but this poem in The Book of Virtues, by William J. Bennett, illustrates that reason simply:
If you were busy being kind,
Before you knew it, you would find
You'd soon forget to think 'twas true
That someone was unkind to you.
If you were busy being glad,
And cheering people who are sad,
Although your heart might ache a bit,
You'd soon forget to notice it.
If you were busy being good,
And doing just the best you could,
You'd not have time to blame some man
Who's doing just the best he can.
If you were busy being right,
You'd find yourself too busy quite
To criticize your neighbor long
Because he's busy being wrong
...unfortunately, the Repubs have crossed a long, wide line in the sands of right and wrong too many times, and the Dems should have found a way to highlight and correct that, or, as has been done, risk losing the role of leadership.
I am continually amazed at the grace with which Democrats deal with those mean Republicans.
If you were busy being kind,
Before you knew it, you would find
You'd soon forget to think 'twas true
That someone was unkind to you.
If you were busy being glad,
And cheering people who are sad,
Although your heart might ache a bit,
You'd soon forget to notice it.
If you were busy being good,
And doing just the best you could,
You'd not have time to blame some man
Who's doing just the best he can.
If you were busy being right,
You'd find yourself too busy quite
To criticize your neighbor long
Because he's busy being wrong
...unfortunately, the Repubs have crossed a long, wide line in the sands of right and wrong too many times, and the Dems should have found a way to highlight and correct that, or, as has been done, risk losing the role of leadership.
I am continually amazed at the grace with which Democrats deal with those mean Republicans.
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