Israel Invading

I know that Israel has a right to defend itself but turning away aid workers, ramming a boat carrying aid and showing very little regard for who they hit in their attacks is simply revolting, The people of Israel have been targeted for so many centuries. They've been beaten down, oppressed and massacred. They were treated like garbage in nearly every land they've lived in and they, the Jewish people have suffered terribly. I get that. I also get, and accept that I can't understand their situation. They do have a lot of people who hate them, but Arabs have a lot of people who hate them too.

Take a look around the "free" world today...the stigma against racial profiling is...well pretty much gone...especially if your an Arab. As a society we just say it's fine to treat Arabs differently than other people...because well..they like to blow up people. Yes, some Arabs do like to blow up people, but most do not. Most are perfectly happy to live their lives and would really prefer to be left alone. Why do you think that the Arab and Islamic world has been so happy with China? Because China doesn't try to force their values down Muslim necks. I'm not saying that we, in the west need to adopt the values of the people of the Arab world but we have to at least understand that their lands are theirs and we should give as much respect to them as what we want for ourselves. They shouldn't hurt us, and we shouldn't hurt them. I feel like I'm saying something controversial but it's actually basic kindergarten manners.

I don't want to post the pictures I've been finding. It's just so horrific, what is happening. I just want to say that at this moment their are people being blown apart and suffering unimaginable horrors. For us, this is all just lines on a page and bytes on a screen, but for these people this is every minute. It is real and it is horrifying.

I think Israel's reaction is entirely too extreme and is counter-productive as it is simply going to turn more people even further away from Israel. There could very well be a day, maybe sometime soon where Israel finds herself in the same situation as Taiwan. I mean that Taiwan cannot really depend upon the United States Pacific fleet any longer. Technically, the U.S says it will help Taiwan, but that U.S resolve is not what it once was and China owning much of the U.S debt load has a great deal of say in U.S governance. Israel can today count on the support of the U.S and a number of other countries, but I think the political risk of being too close to Israel correlates with how Israel is perceived. If Israel is though of as being a sort of oppressor, public opinion might force the U.S to cool down it's relationship with Israel.

Iran confirms arresting blogger

Iranian-Canadian Hossein Derakhshan (Hoder) has not updated his blog since October 6th. It was suspected that he might have been arrested. Iran just confirmed that he has indeed been arrested. Something to do with comments he made about some religious leaders.

Mr. Derakhshan was very outspoken on his beliefs and views. He was very much in favour of many of Iran's policies and of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's policies including Iran's nuclear goals. I just wanted to make that clear that he is an independent thinker and is not some sort of apologist for the west. He most certainly is not.

His views clearly were not considered appropriate and so he has been arrested. One of his "offences" was his effort to show Iranians how Israel really is, and not the sort of caricature that Iran's government would have the population believe.

At least we know where he is now and what happened. I hope and even pray that he'll get through his sentence and get back to writing. I encourage any of my readers to look through his words.

http://hoder.com/weblog/

Examples of Subversive Political "Street Humour"

'How will we know that communism has arrived?'
--'It will be declared by radio and in the newspapers. If people haveTVs, they'll be informed by TV.'

'Tell me-is this already communism or will it be worse yet?

A socialist, a capitalist and a communist agreed to meet. The socialist was late. 'Excuse me for being late, I was standing in a queue for sausages.'
'And what is a queue?' the capitalist asked.
'And what is a sausage?' the communist asked.

One man to another: 'Because of communism I will have a plane!'
'What do you need a plane for?'
'Well what if suddenly, say, flour is being given out in Kalug. Fly for half an hour--and I'm there!'

'Is it true that because of communism products can be ordered by phone?'
'It's true. But they will be given out by TV.'

Communism has come!
'Hello, Manka, turn on your color TV! Red caviar is being shown.'

Will there be KGB in communism? No, by then people will have learned to arrest themselves.

Brezhnev asked the Pope, 'Why do people believe in a Catholic paradise, but refuse to believe in a communist paradise?'
'Because we don't show our paradise!'

Is communism a science?'
'No. If it were a science, it would have been tested on dogs first.'

-

Lenin showed us how to govern. Stalin showed us how not to govern. Khrushchev showed us that any fool can govern. And Brezhnev showed us that not every fool can govern.

Why was Andropov and then Chernenko unanimously chosen by the Politburo?- Because Andropov had the worst prognosis of the kidneys, and Chernenko the worst cardiogram.

A citizen came to the funeral of Chernenko.
'Your ticket!' a guard demanded.
'For these performances I have a season ticket!

What is the difference between the two newspapers "The Truth" and "The News"?
In "The Truth" there is no news, and in the "The News" there is no truth.

--Alexander the Great, Caesar and Napoleon observed the army parade in Red Square, as honorable visitors.
'If I had Soviet tanks,' Alexander said, 'I would have been invincible!'
'If I had Soviet planes,' Caesar speaks, 'I could have conquered the whole world!'
'And if I had had the newspaper "The Truth",' Napoleon said, 'the world, even now, would not have found out about Waterloo!'

What is economic reform?
An injection into an artificial limb.

Brezhnev called together a group of cosmonauts. 'Comrades! The Americans have landed on the Moon. We here have consulted and have decided that you will go to the Sun!'
'But we will burn up, Leonid Iljich!'
'Be not afraid, comrades, the Party has thought of everything. You will leave at night.'

On Armenian radio there came a question from abroad: 'Is it true that in the USSR the pay does not correspond to the work?
'Incorrect. It corresponds quite well. They pretend to pay and we pretend to work.'

What will the harvest be like this year?
Average: worse, than last year, but better than next year.

There was a question on Armenian radio for which there was no answer: If all countries became socialist, where would we buy grain?

An Englishman, a Frenchman and a Russian are praising their wives.'When my wife goes for a ride,' the Englishman says, 'herlegs drag on the ground. Not because the horse is small, butbecause my wife has long beautiful legs!'
'I embrace my wife around the waist with only two fingers,' says the Frenchman, 'not because I have a big hand, but because my wife has a slim waist!'
'Before leaving for work,' says the Russian, 'I slap my wife's behind. And when I come back from work, her behind is still shaking. It's not because my wife has a big flabby ass, but because in the USSR we have the shortest working day in the world!'

When did the first Soviet elections take place? When God put Eve before Adam and said: 'Choose yourself a wife!'

'Comrades!' - Brezhnev addressed the people by radio. 'I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that for the next seven years we shall eat only shit! The good news is that it will be plentiful!

The seven miracles of the Soviet Authority:

1. There is no unemployment, yet nobody works.

2. Nobody works, yet the Grand Scheme is carried out.

3. The Grand Scheme is carried out, yet there is nothing to buy.

4. There is nothing to buy, yet there are lineups everywhere.

5. There are lineups everywhere, yet everyone has everything.

6. Everyone has everything yet everyone is dissatisfied.

7. Everyone is dissatisfied, yet everyone votes 'Yes'.

Why is the Soviet Sun so joyful in the morning ?
Because it knows that by evening it will be in the West.

'Who's your father?' the teacher asked Vovo.
'Comrade Stalin!'
'And who's your mother?'
'The Soviet native land!'
'And what do you want to become?'
'An orphan!'

In a prison:
'How many years did you get?
'Twenty-five.'
'For what?'
'For nothing.'
'You're lying! For nothing they give ten.'

Under the specified theory of historical materialism between Socialism and Communism the intermediate stage is inevitably-alcoholism.

-- Translated by Troy Morash

Michaëlle Jean and what I like about Canada

I spend a lot of time talking about things that are wrong in the world. That's sort of the point of this blog, well actually it's not but this blog does cover world affairs and we do seem to have a tendency to focus on the negative. I suppose that means that humanity is essentially good (yeah, yeah, bleeding heart liberal that I am) otherwise if humanity's natural state was to be "evil" than we would be shocked by kindness and not terror. Not a very well thought out argument, but that is only another bunny trail that I won't explore at this moment.

I do however want to talk about something that is positive and that is Canada. Yes, everyone loves his or her own country, but I think we have something truly great in Canada. We seem to have made this peaceful and diverse country with few social problems. Okay, yes there are homeless in the streets, for which there is little excuse. There is also great poverty in some areas and the First Nation's people do not enjoy the same living conditions as the rest of Canada.

But, I claim that if we stake Canada up against how most people have lived throughout history, Canada would come out at just about the top, if not the top on certain measurements. Those measurements would be: personal liberty balanced by rule of law and protections for the weak, opportunity to create wealth, opportunity to become a stake-holder in the governing system (democracy) and opportunity to pursue personal goals and interests. When compared to other democracies, Canada has a very tolerant population and is relatively free of violence, racial tensions and extreme poverty. Is it good enough? Of course not. But, it is good and getting better in some regards.

Don't mistake what I'm saying for some kind of Molson Canadian nationalism which is in itself deeply ironic as Molson Canadian is no longer Canadian...it's owned by Coors...Jokes on you Molson Canadian nationalists! But rather what I'm saying is more of what drunken lunatics really talk about when they are missing home.

Damn, that was out loud...err in type. I could delete it, but why bother. It's out there...no back on topic we go.

Don't mistake this for some sort of ....errrr frick, already said that....

Canada is actually stronger because we are not so nationalistic (made it up, 2008, p. 0) Maybe I mean to say that I don't really like nationalism because it can sometimes be bad.
Changed my mind...nationalism is fine as long as it doesn't involve blowing up other countries and as long as anyone can become a member of that nation.

Oh, but what is a nation? Hmm...I prefer to think of Canada as a multi-national state. Quebec is certainly a nation, and good for them. They add a lot of colour to the country, and I hope they stick with us. More power to the Quebec nation is fine by me. They have an inalienable right to self determination, after all but I hope they continue feeling comfortable and happy in the Dominion...(I like that word...Star Trek has made me like that word...(and heck, my name is Williamson after all) even if the name implies that someone has dominion over the land, perhaps someone does (used to be Jesus, but now it's Stephen Harper)...I still like it).

Another set of nations within Canada are the First Nation's. Those are the peoples currently living in North America who are indigenous. They governed themselves in a very different fashion than Europeans governed themselves, and were who were largely marginalized (and remain so) ,perhaps as a result of previously mentioned different political system?

Anyway, I digress (frequently). Canada has been moving in a very good direction and I miss it. I also miss the cold rapid rivers in the winter, and I miss the flowers and trees. (There is a guy taking a piss outside of my window...talking on the phone and pissing outside of my window!...weirdo).

When I started to write this, I was going to write about Michaëlle Jean, Governor-General of Canada, but this is a blog so I don't need to be organized. And I was going to talk about how she is telling Canada to be realistic with things given the "economic crisis". So, I'll close with that. the Governor General is telling us to be cautious and she's right...get out of debt and stay out of debt.


I'd also like to say how great of an image it sends to the world, and the people I've met who live in oppressed nations, to see this young, intelligent, media woman as the most powerful person in Canada. I love seeing her sit on the Throne and I love what is says about us.

Israeli Air Strikes on Gaza, death toll rising.

I once read, somewhere...probably in something by Noam Chomsky or maybe something by Al Franken that some committee or some group (likely Dick Vader Cheney's doing) that a recommendations was made that the United States should respond to any attack on it's assets or soil with a response so powerful and so vengeful that it borders on the irrational...just so that anyone who might want to attack the U.S would clearly know that the U.S response would likely destroy all opposition.

That seems to be what Israel is doing in the Gaza strip in response to Hamas rocket attacks. No one is disputing that Hamas has been killing Israelis and shares a great deal of the blame for disrupting the peace, but Israel's response seems to be way over the top.

The number of dead is now at 275 according to CNN and the hospitals are overflowing with 600 people injured in the last day . On the other side, the Israeli government is claiming that 110 rockets have been fired into Israel since Saturday (again, in the same article).

Arab Backlash

What concerns me (other than the deaths of hundreds of people) is how the Arab, and non-Arab Muslims are responding, and will respond should the Israeli attacks continue for much longer.

Already Egypt has become rather strong worded and has opened it's border to allow the wounded to flow through. Egypt, of course, has a strong interest in seeing peace in the area and it was they who brokered the previous peace agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Israel that ran out on December 19. Egypt's government faces intense pressure from her people to ensure that the Palestinian people are protected from Israeli attacks, and Egypt also doesn't want to return to conflict with Israel.

King Hussein of Jordan has also condemned the attacks, which is not surprising. Other Arab countries are giving Israel a short deadline before they go to the U.N security council in search of tougher action against Israel. I don't think the security council would agree to it, but it would certainly raise an embarrassing debate for Israel.

What concerns me the most here is that while the government's of the Arab states are mainly tolerant of Israel, many of the people are not. Anything that Israel does to provoke the Palestinians is going to provoke all of the Arab nations of the world and other Islamic states.

It also raises tensions in countries like the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada who all have large Muslim minorities. I'm not sure if Israel realizes that world opinion (even outside of the Muslim states) has already been turning against Israel (Lebanon was a big part of that) and this is going to make it worse.

A worse image for Israel means less security for Israel. Israel might find herself without the friends she once had and without the business, access to technology, trade and military equipment coming in, Israel would suddenly become that much more vulnerable.

Now, I believe that both Israel and Palestine have a right to exist but it's getting really hard to picture how that will ever work. Israel long ago squandered any opportunity for a true partnership between Palestinians and Israelis and has proceeded to carve up Palestine into several incongruous territories that could never really function as a productive nation.

So, I argue that it is in Israel's own self interest to cease the attacks and turn it over to a U.N operation of some sort.