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• Comment by caítlin on July 18th, 2006 at 1:49 pm:

  This is already an excellent resource! And its still worth checking out Electronic Intifada for updates on the latest in Gaza [which is getting a lot less media attention here].

• Comment by soyuz on July 18th, 2006 at 2:01 pm:

  heard about the website through democracy now! yesterday. but sometimes i don’t know how to react to all this news and attrocities going on. i still feel far removed from what’s going on in lebanon or gaza. mostly because i can’t comprehend such a reality. i’m desensitized to all the violence because everyday violence seems to occur behind the TV screen or in pictures and papers. but a website like electroniclebanon definitely brings out the real side of war. war that’s seen through victims.

• Comment by Pidgey on July 18th, 2006 at 2:22 pm:

  Where’s a meteorite when you need one?

  I can’t work out if I’m shocked or not. Either way I’m angry beyond words. And the worst part? What the fuck can you do? Really? Write letters? Make another protest behind designated police lines?

  The site is excellent. How many people does it take to run something like that? I recommend a donation to keep projects like this alive.

• Comment by dumdidee on July 18th, 2006 at 2:36 pm:

  Proudhoun wrote the following paragraph from prison. Strangely enough, it seems kind of like one of those know-it-all Marxist pronouncements, but considering that the world seems to have gone utterly mad it offers me some kind of comfort. I don’t know.

  “The movement is no doubt irregular and crooked, but the tendency is constant. What every government does in turn in favor of revolution becomes inviolable; what is attempted against it passes over like a cloud: I enjoy watching this spectacle, in which I understand every single picture; I observe these changes in the life of the world as if I had received their explanation from above; what oppresses others, elevates me more and more, inspires and fortifies me; how can you want me then to accuse destiny, to complain about people and curse them? Destiny—I laugh at it; and as for men, they are too ignorant, too enslaved for me to feel annoyed at them.”

• Comment by dumdidee on July 18th, 2006 at 2:38 pm:

  Oh yeah, i forgot to say hi to tom, caitlin, pidgey and soyuz.

• Comment by tom on July 18th, 2006 at 3:08 pm:

  it’s interesting to note how when the 8 canadians (from montreal) were killed by iraeli missiles, the media showered us with epitaphs and eulogies. yet when it’s arab people, there are no comments. it’s like it’s become matter of fact that arabs die. this sets precedents for racism and general mis-information.

  it’s good to see this link here, at least some media remains objective.

  hi!

  slice harper now!

• Comment by gerty on July 18th, 2006 at 3:15 pm:

  I get scared shitless every time i see the outrageous israel military “response”. And
  ‘course sick when i can’t help but notice the irreparable chasm thats being forged and the media’s supporting role. Its like painkillers for our collective gaping wounds in our heads. encouraging to see that there are still intelligent people trying to baracade the door from impeding doom.

• Comment by gerty on July 18th, 2006 at 3:19 pm:

  I noticed that too tom. I was watching cnn.(think i just found the problem) and they were showing the human interest stories of americans caught in lebanon. how about the lebanese caught in lebanon? enough about the doughy americans who are forced to pay for their rescue. What about those forced to pay with their lives, is that reserved for some blooper reel somewhere?

• Comment by dumdidee on July 18th, 2006 at 3:35 pm:

  More preaching to the choir:

  ElectronicLebanon website is kinda like the equivelent of Howards Zinns People’s History of America. CNN and all the rest of the corporate mouthpieces really only document the viewpoints of the powers-that-be, just like most history books.

  It’s the economy, stupid? Nah, it’s the people, stupid.

• Comment by Pidgey on July 18th, 2006 at 5:01 pm:

  This all feels so painfully orchestrated now that I read news items like this one:

  http://news.bbc.co.u...dle_east/5192990.stm

  As the USA’s extended military wing blindly and ultra-willingly bombs another country into the dark ages, I bet it won’t take long before bombs fall on Iran. This time with full parent backing.

  And there was me feeling all blue about panda bears.

  Seriously, where is that meteorite? I have the co-ordinates right here in my back pocket.

  Back in the UK: On 22nd July there are demonstrations in London, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

  As if there was another reason: http://www.guardian....y/0,,1822978,00.html

• Comment by poo on July 18th, 2006 at 7:57 pm:

  I liked what George Bush said the other day at the G8 summit. That is the most important issue according to our news services. It’s not about what he said either.. its just the fact that he said the doo doo word.

• Comment by Marc on July 18th, 2006 at 10:36 pm:

  Israel has heard these arguments before. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said, “Proportionality is not compared to the event, but to the threat, and the threat is bigger and wider than the captured soldiers.”

  http://www.nytimes.c...amp;partner=homepage

  When can I deem what I think is a threat and blow it back 20 years? Fuckers.

• Comment by Marc on July 18th, 2006 at 10:37 pm:

  I kind of wish there were proponents of US/Israel foreign policy on here. Would make for some good discussion.

• Comment by tom on July 19th, 2006 at 12:22 am:

  i kind of wish that proponents of US/Israel foreign policy didn’t exist.

• Comment by kate on July 19th, 2006 at 1:25 am:

  Hillary Clinton:

  “We will support her [Israel] efforts to send a message to Hamas, Hezbollah, to the Syrians, to the Iranians, to ALL who seek death and domination instead of life and freedom, that we will not permit this to happen and we will take whatever steps are necessary…

  …It is a message that we want not only those in the Middle East to hear, but the world, because no nation is safe from these terrorist extremists. They do not believe in human rights, they do not believe in democracy. They are totalitarians, they are the new totalitarians of the 21st century.”

  This is what they call a Democrat in the U.S.? Now i see why you kids don’t bother voting…

• Comment by Pidge on July 19th, 2006 at 4:14 am:

  Kate, that is a shocker. Unless she’s naturally a really funny stand-up.

• Comment by tom on July 19th, 2006 at 8:26 am:

  hillary clinton is a dirty farter.

  yes, down south moderate means right of center. but harper is spewing forth the same dribble of self defense and porportional assault. and the media portrays these happenings without ANY context.

  so we’ve got to write to our MPs and to our local media outlets. we need to get context and ideas out there.

  anyways, the boy is crying wolf and i can’t wait for that wolf to come and bite his fucking balls off. well, then we’d go extinct.

• Comment by drew on July 19th, 2006 at 12:34 pm:

  i never know what to say about this kind of stuff anymore. humans just keep fucking eachother and the planet over. goddamnit, we can do better than this. what the fuck are we doing to eachother?!!??!

• Comment by mikea on July 19th, 2006 at 12:52 pm:

  Marc, if i meet someone supporting the US/Israel “foreign policy”, i doubt there would be any exchange of WORDS. Unless i’m high on valium.

• Comment by dumdidee on July 19th, 2006 at 1:04 pm:

  Kate -

  Yeah, some opposition party, huh? For a long time I tried to resist the notion that there was essentially no difference between the two parties but I can no longer do that w/o being intellectually dishonest. As Glen wrote they’re all “slaves to the israeli extremist lobby”

  All Dems except for Kucinich can go fist themselves.

  Here’s another reason i get the feeling I was “played” by voting for Kerry in the last election:

  http://fuse.tv/warped/game/index.php

  It’s weird how all these Prop lyrics from PCL keep becoming more understandable as various world events unfold. Just when I start to think Glen is a rambling lunatic something will happen that vindicates him.

• Comment by drew on July 19th, 2006 at 2:35 pm:

  dumdidee: i totally agree with what your saying about the difference between the two parties being pretty much non-existent and how everyone but kucinich should go fist themselves, but im confused about what this fuse warped game has to do with kerry.

• Comment by soyuz on July 19th, 2006 at 2:37 pm:

  just read rod’s update at the propagandhi website…and yep, there’s more fun in going out and doing something about what’s going wrong in the world. i believe that and i’m not hibernating and wallowing in all this pain. so anybody know about any events going on in denver, co regarding the situation in sudan or the current israeli attacks on lebanon. dumdidee? anyone?

• Comment by tom on July 19th, 2006 at 2:54 pm:

  colorado? take a mountain prisoner and demand a cease fire for its’ return.

• Comment by Pidgey on July 19th, 2006 at 4:39 pm:

  As this shit just gets crazier and crazier - http://english.aljaz...2B4-77A00ADBB316.htm
  - in the UK there are emergency Demonstrations in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Kirkcaldy, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Sheffield, York.

  See: http://www.stopwar.o...g.uk/July22Demos.htm

• Comment by Pidgey on July 19th, 2006 at 5:09 pm:

  And here’s the fucking horse shit from our leader at number 10 (as reported by the BBC):

  ‘Meanwhile, PM Tony Blair has called on Hezbollah to release Israeli soldiers and stop rocket attacks on Israel

  ‘Events in Lebanon were tragic and terrible, he told MPs, but if the situation was to stop “it has to stop by undoing how it started.”‘

  Did he really just say that? Without anyone laughing and/or shooting themeslves in the face?

  I remember once, my sister flicked my ear, which was pretty annoying. So I took a baseball bat to her face and smashed her fucking brains in. After that I took out my family too beacuse I was feeling hyped.

  I can’t let you know how painful it to watch that sack of spunk ride about on his horse.

  These *must* be the closing chapters, surely?!

• Comment by dumdiddee on July 19th, 2006 at 9:41 pm:

  Soyuz … wow, it feels kinda cool to get even a shred of acknowledgment on a blog consisting of complete strangers from all over the occidental world. At least I haven’t been babbling to myself.

  Actually, I have no idea what’s going on where I live because when I’m not typing on this blog I’m steaming it up with my girlfriend who treats me like a sex-slave. Life is tough!

  Oh god how I wish that were true. Seriously though, I do what I can to put my money where my mouth is here in Denver.

  http://www.rmpjc.org/

  http://www.ccmep.org

  I do what I can to support these organizations, but it is generally limited to financial contributions due to the time constraints imposed by having to work at a shit job and spending time with my old man, who had a stroke a while back and is now partially paralyzed. He needs some living assistance and company.

  Actually, my last stint in “direct action” (aside from my failed attempt to join a rally in support of churchill), so to speak, was when I was helping democrats register voters in 2004 and trying to sway them to the Kerry camp. I’m pretty sure that I actually cost Kerry some voters cos I’m a stuttering, bumbling fool. Yes, I realize now I was completely misguided and now I seriously have a hard time even seeing a photo of Kerry w/o feeling sick. Actually, he even made me sick back then but I just kinda thought, like Chomsky, that when power is so concentrated even a slight change in leadership can translate into significant changes (for the better, hopefully) in average peoples lives.

  Whoa, i think i just went on a tangent. Hopefully no one wasted their time reading it.

  I must go now. The lady beckons me.

• Comment by gerty on July 19th, 2006 at 11:11 pm:

  yup i “wasted” my time dummdidee jk. Today my boss ferverantly flapped his spitting gums on how precious Harper’s special trip to Lebanon is and Lebanon, Syria and Iran should be nuked. I know these oppinions exist i just wanna punch the wall(or any other pink floyd album jk) when there is just an out right assumption by hot headed conservatives in positions of authority that their views are the be all and end all of the all seeing ‘hairy scar’. I know you “gotta give head to get ahead” but just dont fucking assume I like to kneel before you. fucking bosses. boy it feels like after this week i’ll be permantently limp-dicked. the completely validated and apparently necessary civilian deaths executed by israel is such a turn off. Israel’s pending warcrimes are all Hezbola’s fault. good bye Lebanon. approxamately 200 lebanese civilians dead. approximately 12 Israeli civilians dead. Lebanese government can’t control Hezbola but maybe they can if they’re just a smoking crater oh i see where they’re going with this. I had something good to say at some point. good to see people on this thread.

• Comment by Alfred on July 20th, 2006 at 7:03 am:

  Isn’t it funny how terrorism, when allied with America, is called “acknowledging your right to exist”?

  Fuck, I think I’ll go outside and akcnowledge a few tings myself.

• Comment by Pidge on July 20th, 2006 at 7:21 am:

  Don’t worry kids! It’s all going to be ok…Pope Benedict XVI has called for a day of prayer on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire!

  At last, direct action.

• Comment by Marc on July 20th, 2006 at 8:01 am:

  Aww shucks, do we hafta wait till Sunday?

• Comment by dumdidee on July 20th, 2006 at 10:39 am:

  wonder if there’s a correlation between how much a person blogs and how much sex he/she has?

  This blog is really good for catharsis if nothingg else.

  btw, i meant brent korey the other day while vacationing in Winnepeg. He cut a rather dashing figure, but he’s also a quiet fellow.

• Comment by Pidge on July 20th, 2006 at 10:55 am:

  You’re right, those that score everynight post the most.

• Comment by dumdidee on July 20th, 2006 at 11:21 am:

  “but im confused about what this fuse warped game has to do with kerry”

  I link them through the fact that the warped tour essentially became a “rock the vote” type organization for the Kerry camp in ‘04. And the warp tour is really no different between having say, a pepsi festival, a Nike art show, or a Lockheed and Martin jamboree, y’know?

  Just rambling i guess. Never was much good at expressing my thoughts in writing. Or maybe my thoughts do not make for goood writing? Ach.

• Comment by Marc on July 20th, 2006 at 11:51 am:

  “I link them through the fact that the warped tour essentially became a “rock the vote” type organization for the Kerry camp in ‘04. And the warp tour is really no different between having say, a pepsi festival, a Nike art show, or a Lockheed and Martin jamboree, y’know?”

  Actually that’s not true. Though, I’m not a backer of the Warped Tour - there are US Army recruit booths set up as well as PunkVoter stuff. I don’t think you can generalize as much and say that Warped Tour has a political agenda..it’s just a gathering of shit bands.

• Comment by drew on July 20th, 2006 at 12:15 pm:

  wow, so all we gotta do is pray to get things done. AMAZING!

• Comment by dumdidee on July 20th, 2006 at 12:54 pm:

  Marc,

  I don’t think you can generalize as much and say that Warped Tour has a political agenda..it’s just a gathering of shit bands.

  Ok, but I still agree with me that the warp tour is really no different between having say, a Pepsi festival, a Nike art show, or a Lockheed and Martin jamboree, y’know?

  Actually, in some ways it’s even worse cos it has essentially destroyed the soul of a music that was once a gathering place for confused adolescent malcontents, who had an instinctive, visceral dislike of society, to band together and exchange ideas. I really think that’s how punk evolved into political music and its sad to see the advent of events that water it down.

  The lawrecnce arms kinda said it good talking about warp tour and dudes in “flip-flops with bro attitudes”. I don’t know.

  The headsets beepin’. back to work for me!

• Comment by dumdidee on July 20th, 2006 at 12:56 pm:

  Anyone remember how pure it felt listening to bands like Youth of Today, DK and Gorilla Biscuits back in the day?

• Comment by drew on July 20th, 2006 at 11:13 pm:

  cos it has essentially destroyed the soul of a music that was once a gathering place for confused adolescent malcontents, who had an instinctive, visceral dislike of society, to band together and exchange ideas. I really think that’s how punk evolved into political music and its sad to see the advent of events that water it down.
  you totally hit the nail on the head. if i could articulate halfway decently at the moment thats what i would have hoped to write about the warped tour.

• Comment by D-Rock on July 21st, 2006 at 9:11 am:

  Tomorrow - Saturday, July 21st, there are demonstrations across Canada against Israel’s current aggression in Gaza and Lebanon.

  To see locations and times, check out the Canada Peace Alliance website.

• Comment by tom on July 21st, 2006 at 2:56 pm:

  what pisses me off is the fact that wapred tour is even mentioned in this thread. how can we discuss a fucking poser tour in the midst of this crisis? unless vans is supplying shoes to israeli soldiers, please shut the fuck up.

  anyways, today i heard an interview with the canadian-israeli consulate on the mainstream radio. they raised the question of being able to kill terrorists amidst civilian populations. the consul said “it is very hard for israeli soldiers to make the decision to bomb civilian areas. sometimes they note that it is a civilian area, and they return to base.”

  a hard fucking decision? hard? fuck that guy. doesnt seem to hard when hundreds of people have already been killed in a matter of weeks. fuck him and fuck that station. apparently bombing a busfull of lebanese civilians following israeli miltitary orders to flee the city wasn’t to hard. 80 odd instant innocent deaths added to an endless list.

  cheers to todd and glen and d-rock for updating their websites with these comments, it’s really helping me vent.

  FREE PALESTINE, FREE LEBANON! DEAD HARPER!

• Comment by Al on July 21st, 2006 at 7:01 pm:

  On a positive note I’d like to point out that not every news station has their head stuck up settlers’ asses.
  The norwegian channel NRK’s news reports give a pretty fair (and shocking) image of what is actually going down in Lebanon.

• Comment by drew on July 21st, 2006 at 9:06 pm:

  tom: you are totally right. i kinda got off track there for a minute. maybe brent can make an appearance now and use his bats.

  i have read some articles on what is going on, but i havnt come accross any that talk about where other countries in the world stand on this whole thing. are most against it?

• Comment by dumdiddee on July 22nd, 2006 at 3:06 am:

  Hi Tom … You’re sooo right. What was i thinking?!? I’m so sorry!!! I beg your forgiveness!

  Pshaw! Dude, who the fuck died and made you moderator? Here’s a news flash for you, my friend: posting on this most obscure of obscure blogs will do absolutely FUCK ALL to relieve the plight of the Palestinians or the Lebanese. Someone posted a qoute by Hillary Clinton illustrating her complete disregard for the rights of Arabs and her Israel-can-do-no-wrong mentality that is shared by all prominent democrats. I was merely went on a TANGENT lamenting the fact that i was fooled into working to help elect these pieces of shit with the vain hope that they would adopt a less militaristic foreign policy. And even though i have only went to one warped to back in 1998 to me it seemed like warped tour was an instrument for the dems in the 2004 election and it probably helped fool some others into believing dems would adopt a sane foreign policy. Plus, that game they made is so absurd i just felt like pointing it out. The warped tour is just another event organized to perpuate international capitalism. And if you get down to metaphysics, the warped tour and the israelis bombing the shit out of lebanon are in some way related in the grand scheme of our social order, or so i think, and hence the tangent.

  I would hate to see this blog devolve into some People magazine type gossip bullshit, and will play no part in it. But fuck, i think you can have some leeway in our discussions so long as they are in some way related to the issue at hand. And regarding dems, warped tour and the like helped fuck over a desire by some people for a more peaceful world after the 2004 election.

  Look at anything i’ve wrote on here and you will see not one reference to anything involving rumor or inneudendo.

  “FREE PALESTINE, FREE LEBANON! DEAD HARPER!”

  Must we be reduced to slogans? What fucking good did that do, eh? EH???

  Oh yeah, about the Norwegian news being more “fair and balanced”, so to speak. I have noticed that Europeans kowtow less to Israel than the pathetically prostrate American leaders. But sometimes i wonder if it not for the wrong reasons, like anti-semitism. Anyone hear about the psychos reestablishing the Black Hundreds in Russia??

  Oh wait, i guess that a tangent again. SO SORRY! I’ll go take a sledge hammer to my face in attempt to atone for my sin.

• Comment by caítlin on July 22nd, 2006 at 4:10 am:

  Drew - As for where other countries stand - http://www.independe...1-210706_170715a.jpg
  was one of yesterday’s headlines here.
  In terms of European media - where I live I can read both British and Irish newspapers and the “liberal” media (which generally isnt great) has actually really impressed me. I don’t know if Robert Fisk is a known figure in North America, but he’s been writing a lot of good stuff and people do seem to be largely appalled by what they’re doing. Where I live its different because its a very political issue related to a whole load of other crap, but by and large people seem to at least want a ceasefire here too.
  I’m sure the right-wing press are just as ridiculous over here though, its just too depressing to read.
  In terms of politicians - I do think that headline kinda says it all, but outside of Britain and probably Ireland to a lesser degree, European leaders will go to certain lengths to challenge Israel (especially Russia and France, if I’m to believe the tv), but I wouldn’t over-estimate them as being champions of Palestinian rights, or anything of the sort.

• Comment by Al on July 22nd, 2006 at 6:06 am:

  “I wouldn’t over-estimate them as being champions of Palestinian rights, or anything of the sort.”

  You’re right, there.
  European leaders have been very reluctant to get involved in the debate on Israel.
  I guess they think the issue is too complicated to make them win any votes from talking about it.

  The norwegian minister of foreign affairs J.G.Støre announced that we would cut the support for the Palestinians when Hamas were elected because they didn’t ‘acknowledge Israel’s right to exist’.

  People were enraged with his lack of understanding of the stituation in the middle east. Even members of his own party.
  In the end he had to apologize and explain that he didnt really mean it that way.
  The cut in funds was never made.

  USA’s outspoken opinion that people who fight back against oppressive regimes (namely Hamas) are islamic extremists, has definately made it harder for some european governments to engage in pro-palestinian/lebanese action.

• Comment by Pidgey on July 22nd, 2006 at 10:54 am:

  I’d say about 8000 odd people protested in London. I was hoping for a bigger turnout, but I met a some very cool people who were all good to speak with. Didn’t get to burn any embassays, but there’s always next time. Isn’t there?

  Only to get home to see that we’re fast approaching WWIII. And a hippy has moved into my flat and is waxing his dreads.

  I’m not sure what this means.

  http://english.aljaz...463-2BC9219E0454.htm

• Comment by soyuz on July 22nd, 2006 at 11:22 am:

  strap bombs to your chests and go to the next bush picnic. he’s in denver. protest tomorrow in front of the hyatt in downtown organized by CodePink. see ya there.

• Comment by drew on July 22nd, 2006 at 1:03 pm:

  so basically every other country in the world besides the us, britain, and isreael (the usual three) , are for a cease fire.

• Comment by gerty on July 22nd, 2006 at 9:49 pm:

  I think for the first time I can actually say things that have been posted on this blog have been informative and deserving of attention. Everyone who posted on this thread is swell. Like they say in the Israeli army - “tanks”! Guess my meds are kicking in but i’m not coming down from this bell tower untill Israel backs down, hopefully in my next life i’ll come back as some sort of Helen Keller or a subterranean mole-man. ah yes thats the life for me.
  anyway untill we meet again when I tunnel my way out from beneath your flower bed or aimlessly walk into you making incoherent nasal mummbles.

• Comment by tom on July 24th, 2006 at 8:24 am:

  i aint no moderator, dumdidee, this issue just makes me furious and i guess i was perturbed to see discussion about the poser tour here. in fact, im surprised no ones told me to shut the fuck up. but i’d rather sloganize a dead, “sexless” prime minister than talk about the poser tour so….ha.

  anyways, im surprised no ones mentioned anything about the crimes of hezbollah. im reading about the history of this armed political party, because they just dont bring it up when we’re talking about this conflict.

  http://en.wikipedia....ki/Hezbollah#History

  who was it that declared israel “could be” commiting war crimes? cheers to her. she’s a canuck i think. yet, shes already been shot down. debate is silenced, and the true causes of this conflict are whatever they want them to be.

  become the media, yo!

• Comment by Pidge on July 24th, 2006 at 10:29 am:

  I just thought it was quite obvious that Hezbollah aren’t the Rebel Alliance from Star Wars. But even so, the aggression of the Israeli army and government has been, and continues to be, breathtaking. Hezbollah’s aggression hasn’t been. I spoke with some Lebanese people on Saturday - some had open and quite militant support for Hezbollah, others just resented them for a) not disbanding their military wing ages ago, and/or b) firing rockets and kidnapping Israeli soldiers/picking a fight with a really irritable neighbour.

  Either way, they all resent Israel, the US and the UK and it’s not hard to see why.

  But you’re right, I suppose Tom, but most people don’t know a great deal about the group. I’ve been reading about them from various sources since they first fired rockets a few weeks back. I don’t know much about them, but I do know that Israel is completely unjustified in what it’s doing, and my country and the US are completely unjustified in supporting it.

  I’m just wondering if Israel would’ve used any number of excuses to do what they’ve done. Hezbollah or no Hezbollah. I’d say that yes, they would’ve if we look at the wider aims of region.

  Anyway, if anyone here happens to be a leading authority on Hezbollah (I suspect not) can they please share any words of wisdom. Otherwise I’ll use the mystical ‘Google.’

• Comment by tom on July 24th, 2006 at 1:21 pm:

  no, but i hope this does make a difference:

  http://electronicint...v2/article5187.shtml

  i was quite happy about it.

• Comment by soyuz on July 25th, 2006 at 4:20 am:

  so the insanity perpetuates…ambulances targeted, cars with people waving white flags are just another targets while leaflets rain down warning that “this is just the beginning.” the opressed with power at their hands have become the opressors.

• Comment by dumdidee on July 25th, 2006 at 11:03 am:

  anybody else think that Israel’s response to the capture of the two soldiers had all the spontaneity of the Schlieffen Plan?

  Besides the fact that what they are doing is morally wrong even by their own “judeo-christian” standards (but then again, i guess that never stopped any “adherants” of these values before), what the fuck can they gain by further destabilizing the region?

  Yeah, Hezabollah ain’t no fuckin saints either. Anyone notice their stiff-armed fascist salute? And aside from paying lip-service to standing in solidarity with Palestinians and promising to destroy Israel, other Arab states in the region haven’t done shit to help their palesinian brothers and sisters. Seems to me like these states just use Palestinian plight as a pretext to justify their seething anti-semitism. And if there is a more reactionary culture outside of the muslim faith than i am unaware of it.

• Comment by dumdidee on July 25th, 2006 at 11:17 am:

  oh yeah … CodePink never “registered” with me before, but according to their myspace page they seem incredibly active in my illustrious hometown of Denver, so i’m gonna keep my eye on’em. It seems i have a tendency to focus my attention on the international and historical rathre than the regional and the present. i need to balance the two better.

• Comment by tom on July 25th, 2006 at 12:41 pm:

  i think that most of the cultures based on religion are quite reactionary. israel is a jewish state with a muslim minority. america, canada, and the UK, are mostly christian with many “visible minorities”. i’d say these cultures of faith are as reactionary as the rest of ‘em. just look at iraq, japan, afghanistan. just look at that one g7 catalog with all the countries on it.

  with the evidence at hand it looks like nations with strong fundamentalist undertones (overtones?) or faith based policies are inherently fascist and will by all means and costs protect their manifested power.

  it would be interesting to hear from the lebanese people about their beliefs in hizbollah and the current israeli invasion. the media says hizbollah hold seats in parliament, how did they get those seats? we all know about silhouette elections.

  gangsters, thiefs = politicians and priests. dont forget the armies.

• Comment by caítlin on July 25th, 2006 at 1:39 pm:

  Maybe I’m misconstruing something here, but I don’t think it’s fair to label Muslim faith reactionary. Conservative, fundamentalist theocrats of any kind, as well as Sharia law and its proponents, are beyond fucked up. But it isn’t Islam that’s the problem any more than it’s Judaism which makes Israel so fucked-up, or Christianity which screws up the US. Religion itself is a reactionary social force, incredibly dangerous in its vaguery, and probably the most obvious vehicle for reactionary change in society, everywhere. Maybe at the moment its most obviously manifested in predominantly Muslim countries, because of their objective conditions, but its still the conservative interpretations of the reactionary elements of those societies that constitute the big problem [and probably would, religion or no religion] rather than the incredibly varied faiths of Muslims. Like I said, I’ve probably just misunderstood you.

  You’re definitely right about the other Arab countries doing little to help Palestine. Cuddling with Caterpillar?! That made me want to puke.

  I can’t remember why now but I happened to pick up Rogue State yesterday, and this depressed me beyond words;

  “We sent our marines into Lebanon and you only have to go to Lebanon, to Syria or to Jordan to witness first-hand the intense hatred among many people [for the US] because we bombed and shelled and unmercifully killed totally innocent villagers – women and children and farmers and housewives – in those villages around Beirut.. As a result of that…we became kind of a Satan in the minds of those who are deeply resentful. This is what precipitated the taking our hostages and this is what has precipitated some of the terrorist attacks – which were totally unjustified and criminal.” [Jimmy Carter]

  Its hard to tell what our role should be in this mess. I can’t help but wonder how many times we’re going to be able to sit back and watch this insanity without losing hope or energy. And while we still have it, we’re caught between generations fucked over by our countries’ leaderships, with all the resulting anger, and people seemingly relentless in the pursuit of power and money. All the token gestures in the world won’t heal the rifts that are growing and will continue to grow unless something changes radically. Here we’ve been handing out leaflets.

  …Doesn’t quite seem to fit.

  Ok, I’m grumpy and rambling. Sorry.

• Comment by dumdidee on July 25th, 2006 at 2:08 pm:

  Oh, don’t get me wrong … Christianity and Judiasm can be just as reactionary as Islam. But overall, today it in the islamic nations where reaction is the strongest. I mean, gay pride parades can be held in the U.S. and Israel, women have at least some control over their lives and there is a bit of tolerance of diversity. Let’s face it, many islamic countries still have strong currents of the kind of a religious fanaticism straight out of the dark ages … i do agree with you these social characteristics are a reflection of the objective material base of most of these societies(though marxist i am most definitely not)

  This is meant in no way as an apology of Israeli colonialism or militarism.

• Comment by Marc on July 25th, 2006 at 5:27 pm:

  http://www.cnn.com/2...east.main/index.html

  Israeli airstrike hits UN observer post killing 4 UN Observers. Oh fucknuts.

• Comment by dumdidee on July 25th, 2006 at 5:47 pm:

  Don’t worry, Marc. I’m sure an official apology from Olmert will be forthcoming.

• Comment by Marc on July 25th, 2006 at 5:56 pm:

  http://news.bbc.co.u...dle_east/5212870.stm

  What the FUCK.

• Comment by Smitty on July 25th, 2006 at 7:20 pm:

  im from england and ive just recently spent some time in america i was there when this shit israel are up too started and when i came home and popped the news on i couldnt believe the differnce in the broadcasting…i know that the bbc isnt exactly so brilliant but they were showing peoples opinions about america and israel terrorism…unlike american news that just went on about terrorist all the time. I never relised how fucked american mainstream meadia is…fuck i feel sorry for you americans out there.

  lol this amuses me

  http://www.fbi.gov/w...orists/fugitives.htm

• Comment by LJ on July 27th, 2006 at 11:42 am:

  its very noticable smitty. but every now and then the bbc will drop a stinker… applauding bush and informing everyone that isreals actions are fine since he commented that isreals actions are “a force for peace”… makes me feel sick.

Dialogue has ended on this post.

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