Killing of Palestinian Children by Israel 1-10-2005

10, January 2005                Killing of Palestinian Children by Israel

The killing of seven young Palestinian children in a strawberry field by Israeli tank fire is the latest transgression by Israel. Predictably, there was no apology from the Israeli army and no condemnation by the US Administration in mortal fear of offending the strong Jewish lobby. Failure to censure Israel by our lawmakers and the White House, is stark evidence of a blatant partiality towards Israel that is a major obstacle to establishing peace in the Middle East. The much touted ‘road map’ has been a colossal failure. The slaughter of civilians, Israelis and Palestinians, must be vigorously condemned.

It is tragic that Israel, aided and abetted by military and economic aid supplied from the U.S., has coopted its great religion by its brutal occupation, theft of Palestinian land and resources. Land theft is a clear violation of Article 4 of the Geneva Convention. The savage brutality of the Israeli military has been documented by Israel’s leading civil rights group, ACRI. Palestinians have been driven from their homes and large swaths of land has been stolen to construct illegal settlements in defiance of international law and UN sanctions. Ethnic cleansing continues with the construction of Sharon’s apartheid wall which will further isolate Palestinians into smaller enclaves. House demolitions, arbitrary arrests, torture and assassinations, wanton destruction of crops and olive groves, curfews, are the order of the day. Chris Hedges, of the New York Times, reported on the ghoulish Israeli military practice of murdering Palestinian children for sport.

Genocide, “the systematic killing or program of action intended to destroy a whole nation or ethnic group”, seems to be an appropriate word to describe the actions of the Israeli military.

It is especially troublesome that any criticism of the brutal actions of Israel is interpreted as anti-Semitic. Those who attempt to silence the critics must accept responsibility for the increasing isolation of Israel and its pariah status in the international community. 

Bush 1-7-2005

7, January 2005         Response to local letter RE Bush

Permit me to respond to Vishwas More's, letter I-West, December 31. Mr. More errs in his belief that the majority of Americans support the polices of Mr. Bush. Mr. Bush won the election because the White House launched a relentless war of misinformation, character assassination, sound bites, and received unstinting support from the Christian coalition who coopted their faith by launching a phony campaign of 'family values'. Tragically, the powerful corporate media failed to hold the administration accountable for its failed policies under the misguided notion that to do so would be unpatriotic in a time of war.

The White House swat team of Karl Rove excelled in protecting their leader and deflecting criticism from his embarrassing public statements and disastrous press conferences (do a Google search on Bussism’s!). By far the most egregious policy decision of the Bush Administration, that dwarfs all others, was the decision to launch a preemptive strike on Iraq. The Bush White House neocons would have us believe that U.S. involvement in Iraq is part of a "global war on terrorism" in response to the Sept. 11 attacks ignoring the fact that Iraq had nothing to do with the attacks but has instead galvanized and energized the anti-American factions of Islam. Does Mr. More really believe that Iraqis who oppose the U.S. occupation 'hate freedom' as Mr. Bush contends? Or, perhaps our young men and women are dying on Iraqi soil to usher in freedom and democracy? This hasty action by an inept and incompetent president is by far the most disastrous foreign policy decision since the Vietnam war.

The has been confirmed unequivocally by the Defense Science Board on Strategic Communications, a 40 member task force made up of diplomatic, military, academic and business experts which advises the Pentagon on defense issues. Last September the panel issued a blistering report stating that "American efforts have not only failed" in the war of ideas or the struggle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqis, "they may have achieved the opposite of what they intended." Tragically, young American soldiers and large numbers of Iraqis will continue to die because an admission of a failed policy is anathema to Mr. Bush and his neocon advisers. Captured US prisoners can expect little mercy from their captors as the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, this 'good and decent man' as Mr. Bush describes him, has now approved aggressive new prisoner interrogation techniques which are tantamount to torture and a clear violation of the Geneva Convention. Day by day we seem to be mimicking the despicable behavior of Saddam Hussein! Compounding these failed policies, is the attack on civil liberties under the guise of the Patriot Act. Rest assured this resolute president is planning to further stifle political dissent. The much revered U.S Constitution is heading for the shredder! Finally, Mr. More is correct when he contends that Mr. Bush offers a clear vision, albeit a disastrous one -assault on our environment, social security and a road map 'hands off Middle Eastern policy that rewards the Israeli government for its continued repression of the Palestinian people. Sadly, I do not share Mr. More's optimistic vision of the future.

Pat Robertson 1-7-2005

7, January 2005 Pat Robertson

It is time Pat Robertson ceded to McCain’s anti-torture amendment by refraining from inflicting his brand of cruel, inhumane, degrading and hateful messages to his “700 Club television audience. Even his evangelical leaders were incensed by Robertson’s latest ‘God message’, that Ariel Sharon had suffered a massive stroke because God (the creator of all that is) had a particular fixation for the Gaza Strip and West Bank and was unhappy that a sliver of land had been ceded to the rightful owners from whom it was stolen, namely the Palestinians. Hard to believe that an all loving, creator should be so vengeful.

Earlier, Robertson called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, then in November he warned the people of Dover that it risked God’s wrath because voters had recalled conservative board members who favored teaching “intelligent design”. 

Sadly, the troubled, misguided Robertson is not alone in his unyielding support to Israel. A number of conservative Christian groups have become supporters of Israel because they believe a fully restored Jewish nation in the Holy’ Land is a precursor to the second coming of Christ. I wonder if Jesus would approve of the enormous suffering of the Palestinians displaced from their former homes  – all in an effort to prepare for his second coming.
I think it is time for Pat Robertson and his ilk to go back to Bible reading 101!