We Can't Stop 7.20.2020

Just laugh...

the next time someone says Israel wants a peaceful solution. It didn't take them 5 minutes before the threat of peace was on the table and they had to squash it in its tracks.

Seizures Show New Israel Line Against Hamas
Israeli troops seized 64 members of Hamas in the west bank, including 1/3 of the Palestinian cabinet and 23 legislators. Israel’s stated goal ever since the Parliamentary elections 5 months ago was to weaken the new Palestinian government led by Hamas through exonommic pressure in “an effort to get it to recognize Israel and forswear violence.”

Now a faction of Hamas just came out the other day stating that they wanted to recognize Israel and forswear violence; rationally now what would you do if you wanted to nurture that faction? Attack?

"They're raising the ante," he said. "It's not about releasing the soldier, it's more sinister than that. It seems to me they're going for the long haul." But the result, he said, would actually "reinforce the radicals."

Ali Jarbawi, a professor and dean at Birzeit University here, said he thought the real goal was to remove the Hamas government from power.

Israel wants to continue with its unilateral policies based on the idea that there is no "Palestinian partner," said Mr. Jarbawi, who turned down an offer from Hamas to join the government as an independent. "If you build up your strategy on having no partner, then you have to ensure you don't have one. So when Palestinians tell you that there is about to be a political agreement among the factions, putting their house in order at last, you intervene."

A valid question is posed...

"Why do we need a Palestinian Authority at all? Just to disguise the occupation? If I were Abu Mazen, I'd say I'm a president without authority and dismantle it, and tell Israel: 'You're responsible. You pay.' And then you should worry about a binational state."

Israel can't have it both ways--actually they can and they will until the U.S. steps in and stops funding the war machine; which as voters is our responsibility. Either Israel wants a peaceful solution or a violent solution. There is either going to be a two state compromise or a binational state, if solution is even your goal; which is quite questionable when you look at Israels actions in the context of war and peace.

I don't know, no answers from me. As my freind Ryan says "wait 200 years and we can give all the Palestinians casinos."

research is like chasing the tail of God

I’ve been in an open debate with a theologian. The other day he told me I wasn’t an Anarchist. To which I responded that I am. Then he started talking about the etymology of the word, which shut me up. But I’ve gone and looked it up. From the oxford English Dictionary

Anarchy

Greek à name of state without a chief or head

1. a) Absence of Government; a state of lawlessness due to the absence or inefficiency of the supreme power; political disorder
b) A theoretical social state in which there is no governing person or body of persons but each individual has absolute liberty (without implication of disorder)


Anarchist
One who admits of no ruling power; an advocate or promoter of anarchy; one who upsets settled order.

So once I get the economic freedom, Anarchist is going on my left wrist.
an- (without) + archos (ruler).

Even with my compromises, my failures, my contradictions, and my hypocrisies my mythology is anarchism. A society where we have total liberty and yet we take total responsibility for our role in society with no Gods or Masters telling us and/or controlling us; maybe it’s a fact that this world is filled with Masters and Slaves. But that fact doesn’t change my ideal, my mythology.

Shocking isn't the word I was thinking of...

Well it only took two days; I heard on NPR the other day that a moderate wing of Hamas had come out with a plan to recognize the state of Israel. Two days later in the New York Times Israel Steps Up Confrontation in Gaza Strip. From the outside looking in it would appear that Israel not only wants but needs a radical extremist Hamas because the only footing they have is in the use of force. Nothing but sheer U.S. funded warpower will keep Israel the way Israel wants to remain--a Jewish state. If Israel wanted peace it would resist using force in a time when diplomacy would help to end the violence. Instead they have chosen to strengthen the hand of the conservative elements of Hamas.

cut and run or proper planning?

Bob Herbert hit the nail on the head in his op-ed today

Americans need to understand that Mr. Bush's invasion of Iraq was a strategic blunder of the highest magnitude. It has resulted in mindboggling levels of bloodshed, chaos and misery in Iraq, and it certainly hasn't made the U.S. any safer.

I would add that it has--as predicted by experts--increased the number of converts to the terrorists cause.

What I've never understood about the tough-guy "we don't cut and run" rhetoric is the fact that at some point we have to leave; actually we don't have to leave we could stay indefinately and have a giant drain on our economy and security, pulling us down from our slot as the sole hyperpower. But my question is, if you agree that we have to leave, how wlse do you expect for the troop drawdown to occur. the "enemy" is going to know betore it happens, and yes they will attempt to exploit the oportunity that leaving will create. But maybe we should allow the civil war that is bound to occur--or rather is occuring right now--to get going. We can use our resources and power in more effective areas. if you don't want Iraq to become another Vietnam don't make Iraq another Vietnam: Set a timetable now.

How well are we doing in Iraq

The way the Republican's talk it would seem that we are making progress in Iraq. And because of that fact we don't need to set a "time-line." Now I don't believe we can successfully pull everyone out in 6 months. But me should be taking dramatic steps towards leaving. We can't sit there forever and time and time again our leadership has failed to lead us by simply saying everything is peachy. But everything is not peachy, you are either irresponsible or delusional if you think that way. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. For four years Republicans have been deferring to the President; if the President says its going well and only a coward cuts and runs then we must be doing everything right. We screwed up the occupation, and we have no plans to get out except for some enlightened words from our successful leader. if you want to really see how well its going read the article Fear Invades Once comfortable Baghdad Enclave in todays New York Times.

Now, as Iraqi leaders in the Green Zone savor their recent successes — the naming of the first full-term government since the fall of Saddam Hussein and the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iraq's most wanted guerrilla leader — Iraqis outside its walls are more frightened than ever. Neighborhood after neighborhood in western Baghdad has fallen to insurgents, with some areas bordering on anarchy. Bodies lie on the streets for hours. Trash is no longer collected. Children are home-schooled.

Now thats progress!

The powerful dominance of the mythological superhero

Why was our quick overthrow of the Iraqi government so grand? I keep hearing about how impressive that was for us to accomplish. But we picked on the weakest enemy we could find. The Iraqi army wasn’t an army; after over 13 years of sanctions and sporadic bombing campaigns Iraq had a beaten and bruised third world military. It was like attacking an elementary school crosswalk attendant and then struting around campus bragging about how well you did it, ignoring the fact that you did it to a 5th grader.

Finding your true values

To be truly human one must figure out what one believes and then act on it. Getting lost in debate about what and why you believe is a way of holding off from the necessity of action. You are your values, not the reasons behind why you hold those values. Without action you are a hollow shell of potential.

Bias

Everyone has bias towards certain things--no make that all things--and its a fact of life. now all we can do is deal with reality and work on uncovering both others bias' and uncovering and being honest about our own.

back to the bible

If the bible is to be taken literally rather than metaphorically then we are all children of Adam and Eve, we are all inbred; we all know what happens with inbreeding so that seems unlikely to be true. So Adam and Eve are a mythological way of saying how we developed therefore we must interpret things through the lens of mythology not the lens of reality. When people confuse reality and mythology thats when things become political.

Learned helplessness

I was reading something that brought up the issue of learned helplessness. Researcher Martin Seligman electrically shocked dogs and the dogs who weren't given a way out learned to stop trying. They learned to be helpless. Can people follow from that research? Poor people aren't biologically lazy. In fact some poor people work more than 40 hours a week. But the issue is always on the apathetic poor, the ones who don't try, the cleche welfare mothers and such. But could it be that society has reinforced the helplessness and the poor have been trained to stop trying since only an idiot keeps touching the stove when they get burned.

Today's New York Times

Some things stuck out for me today...

In the article titled "In the Congo, hunger and disease erode democracy." I was struck by something I never thought much about when reading about the Congo; it put things in perspective about how bad it is there.

In less than a decade, an estimated four million people have died, mostly of hunger and disease caused by the fighting. It has been the deadliest conflict since World War II, with more than 1000 people still dying each day.

The deadliest conflict since World War II.

Next is "Doctors See Way to Cut Suffering in Executions" It was about suffering during lethal injection. I'll be up front and state that I am against the Death Penalty because I believe the role of the State is to set the example of how people are to treat each other. If we decide collectively that people should not kill one another within our domain; then the state should not kill either. I'm not saying there are never legitimate times to kill a person; i'm saying the death penalty does not fall within that principle. People simply want revenge and peace for whatever crime has been done. The criminal has lost their right to proticipate freely within our society but thats as far as you can take it, too many factors are involved with such drastic crimes: mental health, and sociological realities; this does not legitimize the crime but it does put the breaks on the general publics thirst for blood. The first thing that stood out is the fact that with execution methods the concern is with how those viewing the execution are effected by the site of watching a person die in the manner that many of the drugs cause a person to die.

But medical experts say the current method of lethal injection could easily be changed to make suffering less likely

At the core of the issue is a debate about which matters more, the comfort of prisoners or that of the people who watch them die. A major obstacle to change is that alternative methods of lethal injection, though they might be easier on inmates, would almost certainly be harder on witnesses and executioners.

With a different approach, death would take longer and might involve jerking movements that the prisoner would not feel but that would be unpleasant for others to watch.

"Policy makers have historically considered the needs of witnesses in devising protocols" for execution, said Dr. Mark Dershwitz, a professor of anesthesiology at the University of Massachusetts who has testified about the drugs used in lethal injection

because drugs like Pavulon can mask suffering, many states outlaw them for animal euthanasia.

We won't do it to other animals, we must want the person to suffer. What does that say about us?

Then it goes on to an interesting sociological pattern. Doctors and nurses tend to refuse to do the injection

Although some doctors and nurses do help in executions, lethal injection in many states is carried out by paramedics, technicians or other prison employees who do not have special training in anesthesia.

So there must be something in their training that causes them to refuse. This is an example I've heard about academia. Some people phrase it saying, Academia trains people to be atheists. Which seems strange to me from being in University. I was never once trained to be an atheist; I was trined to be rational, and methodical in regards to backing up whatever position i'm taking. So in a round about way academia does train people to be atheist since most rational and emperically valid methods of coming to a position on religion lead too uncertainty in an a definative answer and therefore the mythology of the society for which you live in will not magically be an answer that seems legitimate. My point is, something in the training of medical professionals keeps them from participating in the barbarian blood sport of tax funded revenge. So there must be some social benifits that can be applied to others to help promote ethical reasoning when dealing with very terrible occurances.

Finally check out the op-ed A Look at Republican Priorities: Comforting the Comfortable

I'm back

The solution to every problem can be found by taking a step back and letting the world pass by--you are bound to find the answer you are looking for without the need to stress over it. I had internet connection issues, mostly political. But [wo]man is a social animal and can't chop down the whole forest or else [s]he will have no place to dwell; lesson to this story, don't eat where you shit or shit where you eat. Finally summation in normal terms: libraries have internet connection for free! Taxpayer enabled propaganda back in business...

blogging hiatus

Sorry, been having trouble with connections--both physical and metaphysical. And now i'm going out of town. But I shall be back.