The Israeli bombing of Syria is an act of war and therefore illegal. Using its superior military featuring the latest in fighter technology from the United States, the Israeli defence force committed a violation of international law by attacking another nation. The Sharon government calls it an attack against a terrorist training camp, terrorists who have bombed cities in Israel, and therefore this is retaliation. Sharon’s aggression has precedent, the United States bombing of Afghanistan and Sudan during the Clinton admininstration, and more generally – the pre-emptive strike Bush doctrine. Welcome to the era of pre-emptive attacks. In the name of peace, you wage war, insisting that you’r stopping a future threat. And of course, the international community gives no clear response, even the Arab league won’t stick their necks out to defend Syria. Perhaps more interesting, is that at present, the Syrian government has not responded with violence… a phenomenon that Arial Sharon should study carefully — non-violent responses to aggression.
Iran… Please.
The Bush Administration likes to play the “Iran” card every now and then. They point, shout, and condemn the Iranian government – already stigmatized as part of the “axis of evil”. What’s all the fuss? Because allegedly, the Iranian gov. has acquired the nuclear techonology that could be used to make nuclear weapons. That is – they have it to generate energy, but if they want, they could make weapons… allegedly.
Strange thing, I don’t recall the US, UK, Russia, India, or Israel asking anyone for permission to use nuclear energy to develope their countries. Suddenly Iran is “dangerous” because they might be doing the exact same thing. Hypocracy at its best. We’re responsible with weapons of mass destruction-you’re not, because we said so. Unilateral ethnocentric diplomacy at its best.
Storms and Generals
Flipping through the Washington Post, just to make sure there wasn’t any real journalism going on there (it happens on occasion, they write something good), I noticed an article by a guy named Joel Afenbach or something like that. The article described how trees are urban terrors! I repeat, this “journalist” in what is supposed to be a storm damage report, concludes that Trees are an urban danger. Apprently they are not enough of an urban danger, because during the storm no tree was able to fall into this man’s office and smash his computer, or as I call it, his tool of disinformation.
More fluff from the WashPost, keep ’em dumb, keep ’em numb – thats company policy.
Briefly, Wesley Clark. Now, my more left leaning friends and acquaintances have expressed their liking of the general. Why? Well.. he’s got that military career and those good looks that steal some of Bush’s pro-military, common man appeal. Many dems see him as the savior of the party.
Trouble is, the party is rotten to the core, and it’s starting to stink. Wesley Clark? A good guy?
FLASHBACK: Kosovo, NATO under the command of Clark, bombs Serbia for weeks under the pretense that this was the only way to protect Kosovo from the Serb military. During his watch, NATO planes bomb hostipals, TV stations, Power Stations, Oil Refineries, Passenger Trains, Truck Convoys, Foreign journalists, Refugee camps. Thousands die. And Clark claims it was all “part of the mission.” I’m sorry, he may have been doing his job, but the fact is, he killed innocent people. Like his military associates, he cannot simply write-off those deaths like it’s all in a days work.
Democrat? If the dems intend to continue their self-destruction, yes he is. To those who say he’s an improvement over Bush… I say… improvement, perhaps. But Clark as the democractic candidate is like re-arranging the deck chairs on the titanic.
No to Euro?
Well, following a sad week in Sweden, the referendum today saw a majority “NO” vote, to join the Euro currency. Citing all sorts of crazy and not so crazy reasons, slightly over 50 percent of voting Swedes did not want to become a part of the single European Currency. Despite the fact that they are members of the EU, they are part of the European labour and travel agreements, the common agricultural policy, they vote for their own EU parliamentarians, they benefit from EU trade and trade agreements. All this, but it seems, not the currency.
This puts them in the company of the United Kingdom, which has long kept one foot in Europe and one foot, well, somewhere else. And Denmark, another fair-weather EU friend.
While the values of democracy and choice are important ones, the neverending rhetoric by anti-EU conservatives is borderline apacalyptic – as if all the other 11 countries all ready using the currency have lost their welfare systems, trade volume, sovereignty or identity. By playing on people’s fears, you can get people to vote any which way.
Democracy is an interesting and valueable practice. But when it comes to economics and trade, what makes the average person a qualified expert?
Lucky for Sweden they can follow the British example by enjoying the benefits of the EU and making as few commitments as possible. Lucky for Sweden that Europe will still be there when they change their minds.
9-11 profiteering.
George Bush’s fine performance since 9-11.
– Invaded two countries, both still ravaged by civil war.
– Rejected international agreements on not-testing nuclear weapons.
– Rejected international enviromental accords (actually pre-911)
– Presided over the worst financial scandles in recent history: Enron, Worldcomm, Adelphi, etc.
– Worst economy in a decade.
– Unemployment highest in more than a decade.
– Cut Veterans benefits.
– Did nothing to solve energy crises in either california or the northeast.
– The Israeli-Palestinian conflict gets worse and worse.
– Cuts aid to organizations in developing countries that support planned parenthood or birthcontrol.
– Sets an all time record for vacation days as president.
– Highest deficit since Reagan.. spending money he doesn’t have.
– Tuitions are skyrocketing at universities around the country.
I could go on, but eventually you get numb. Maybe thats what has happenned, the nation has gone numb.
To re-elect this man would be the cruelest joke ever played on a nation and the world.
Looking at the calender, this week is the anniversary of Sept. 11th. And perhaps the only thing worse than that terrible occurance is the tasteless, offensive, insulting, ignorant, manipulative and just plain horrible tributes/commercializations that will take place this 9/11. If it isn’t showtime showing a rediculous and pathetic movie called 9-11 featuring GW Bush as the movie’s “hero”, it will be some corporate scheme on the part of NBC or CBS offerring hours upon hours if “tributes to America” with excessive uses of American flags and photos of people crying and troops marching. As one Village Voice reporter mentions this week, it reeks of soviet propoganda. Matter of fact, you can bet the American president will be on every television pan-handling for support for his failure of a war. 4 months ago he said fuck the UN, now he changes his tune, trying to paint himself as something other than the arrogant, ignorant, international-community disrespecting president we all know him to be.
All-in-all, it’s going to be a rough week. My heart especially goes out to New York, as once again America will invade the once autonomous and creative metropolis, and give it a red-white-and blue brain washing. Have courage New York, hopefully it doesn’t last more than a week.