Kucinich on Israel

Wow, The Osterley Times is really on a roll. They found a video of another of my political heroes, Dennis Kucinich, speaking out against the disproportionate force being employed by Israel in the Gaza conflict.

Israel has been denounced by the United Nations, The Red Cross, and Amnesty International, for attacking aid workers and failing to live up to their obligations to wounded civilians.

Israel and the Gaza Strip

I’ve changed my mind about talking about Israel. It needs to be said. I don’t plan on making a habit of it though.

CNN has come right out and said on live television that Israel broke the cease fire. Sources are listed here in another great video found over at The Osterley Times. President Carter also has come out with a similar statement in the Washington Post. The Times has been giving their full attention to the conflict in Gaza, with strong condemnation of Israel, which I can’t find much fault with. Neither side is  innocent in this conflict, but I think it is clear that Israel is acting as an oppressor. They control the food, energy, medicine, and travel of those they have walled in, which includes both fighters and children, who they bomb nearly indiscriminately. They are a nuclear nation sending national military tanks and jets given to them by the U.S. into civilian areas to fight people who are using rocks and small rockets.

“If words are words, or death is death, or powder sends the ball, You spoke the words that sped the shot — the curse be on you all.” -Kipling

Israel is in violation of 35 UN Resolutions.

According to the international community, the Gaza strip is not Israeli land.

The U.S. has sent over 100 billion dollars in mostly military aid to Israel. That is $300 per U.S. Citizen, or $14,000 per Israeli.

According to U.S. law,  “terrorism” means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents. If Israel weren’t recognized as a nation, Its acts would be those of terrorism. the U.S. doesn’t recognize Palestine’s right to exist, therefore, Any military action taken by Palestinians falls under the legal definition of terrorism. Israel uses this to their advantage in ways they couldn’t against another sovereign nation, which is the real reason any peace talks inevitably come to a screeching halt with each side demanding recognition as a nation.

Israel should be held accountable for every innocent death. That is what it is supposed to mean when you decide civilian losses are acceptable; that the situation is so dire that you will accept all repercussions and try to make amends, not to claim that it was OK because there were probably terrorists in the area. The Palestinians on the other hand should be treated as individuals, since their acts are not those of a nation’s military. Until we close Israel’s loopholes we will see no proportionality.

I think the primary problem is their near unconditional U.S. support. The nation status really is right at the heart of the problem. Make the people aware of why and suddenly the propaganda that was convincing begins to make them feel dirty.

Ron Paul on Gaza and the U.S. Economy

 

I’ve been pretty quiet about the conflicts around Israel. I don’t really want to get bogged down at the moment in a discussion that always ends up invoking Godwin’s law. I will go so far right now as to say that I agree with Ron Paul on the matter. He seems to be claiming that the U.S. knew weeks in advance that the attack was going to begin. I’m not surprised in a general sense if this is true, but I always figured if the whole of congress knew, it would have been leaked early.

He is right to be more worried about inflation than deflation. Deflation may be the current issue, and if nothing is done about that, we are likely in for a long drawn out recession, but the things they have set in motion will end up causing hyper-inflation in the end. I don’t mean to make deflation seem like a lesser threat; the problem is, deflation is a lot easier to counter than inflation, just print money. We have already printed more than enough to fix the problem, but the government and banks are still keeping it out of circulation. Sooner or later they will have pulled all the strings they can pull and then we will be at the mercy of what is left of the global free market. At that point, deflation won’t be the worry.

I found the video via The Osterley Times. They are a self described left wing blog, whatever that even means any more. The site focuses heavily on very current events, providing relevant commentary and video. If they can find common ground with Ron Paul, they are Ok by me.

Mandated gambling

According to The Economic Times, the Islamic Fiqh Academy has decided that health insurance is a form of gambling, and thus is illegal under Islamic law. I find this to be a deplorable insult to gambling houses everywhere. Gambling generally has much better odds, and I think is likely a less corrupt industry. Let us compare and contrast:

1. Gambling preys on the hopes of the poor.  Insurance preys on the fears of the poor.
2. Gambling is fun. Insurance: not fun.
3. Money lost to insurance goes to corrupt old white guys, Money lost to gambling goes to corrupt old white guys, or Indians.
4. Gambling is optional. Insurance is sometimes optional, but getting less so every day.

A note on number four; the academy stated that if the insurer was under legal constraints, it might be ok  to purchase insurance. I find it interesting that an all powerful deity that will punish me in the afterlife would be nice enough to leave me a legal loophole. I guess Muslims can vote for Hillary after all.

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