:: blame the extended gestation.... ::

:: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 ::

It's The Occupation
by Bill Thomson
excerts:

"As UN Secretary General Kofi Annan put it in a letter to Prime Minister Sharon on March 19, 'In this connection, I feel obliged to call your attention to disturbing patterns in the treatment of civilians and humanitarian relief workers by the Israeli Defense Forces .... Judging from the means and methods employed by the IDF - F16 fighter bombers [supplied by the United States-BT], helicopter and naval gunships [supplied by the United States-BT], missiles and bombs of heavy tonnage [also supplied by the United States-BT] - the fighting has come to resemble all-out conventional warfare.' "

"How are we, as Americans, to interpret such events? Why didn't the Palestinians accept former Prime Minister Barak's "generous offer", which would have given the Palestinians "most of what they wanted"?
Imagine that someone comes to you and makes the following proposal: I am going to let you and your family finally live in your home, relatively undisturbed. Most of the rooms will be yours to do with as you see fit--all I want is one room, the hallways, and control over who goes in and out your front and back door. You may occasionally have to ask my permission to go to the bathroom or into the kitchen to prepare a meal, but I will usually let you pass with only a quick glance. However, remember that anytime I want, I can seal up the hallways and make you go to your room. I understand that you are willing to let me have the rest of the neighborhood. I just need a little bit more to make me feel safe. And I'll be happy to give you a few acres out by the city dump in exchange for the room in your home."

"In a 1998 article, Rumania & Bar-Tel point out that both Israelis and Palestinians both perceive only themselves as historical victims, and both have legitimate claims to the land. Through systematic internal indoctrination, each sees the other as an invader. Palestinians fail to understand the Israeli obsession with security, based on Israeli's self-perception as an island in an Arab sea, recognizing that to lose a war is tantamount to disappearance as a nation. Israelis' fail to understand Palestinians' legitimate claims to the land and need for a viable state, and that Palestinians see themselves as having borne the brunt of an oppressive military occupation for many decades. Both sides assume that through violence they can prevail, without carefully and logically considering the ultimate outcomes of such violence."

"Finally, what is the role of America in this process? Unfortunately, our claim to be an "honest broker" in this process is transparently false. One need look no further than our long history of financial and military support of Israel over the last five decades ($92 billion), or the recent declaration of support of Israel by 70 members of the US Senate. Of such actions is not honest-broker ship made. It is long past time for us to retire to the sidelines, and allow this issue to be dealt with by the United Nations, the European Union and other appropriate international bodies. The alternative is more decades of oppression, violence and fear."

:: Jim Nichols 4/10/2002 04:46:00 AM [+] ::
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On Bush's recent (un)speech about the Middle East conflict
Bush's Speech By Robert Fisk (my italics)

"On it went, 11 September-speak applied to the Middle East. Israel's enemies must be eliminated - Al Aqsa, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hizbollah, which yesterday beat up a UN observer on the Lebanese border in the most dangerous incident of its kind since the Israeli withdrawal in 2000. The whole Bush speech revolved around Israel's well being, with scarcely three minutes devoted to the Palestinians and their 35 years under occupation. Israel should, Mr Bush decided, show a "respect'' for and "concern'' for the Palestinian people.

There was some ritual mention of UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, which calls for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in the 1967 war but which Mr Sharon has already said he cannot accept, and an appeal to halt settlement building. But Jewish settlements are still being built, at an ever-faster rate, on Palestinian land.

Only a heart of stone could not respond to the suffering of those Israeli families whose loved ones have been so wickedly cut down by the Palestinian suicide bombers. But where was Mr Bush's compassion for the vastly greater number of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israelis over the past 19 months, or his condemnation of Israel's death squads, house demolition and land theft? They simply didn't exist in the Bush speech.

The money for "martyrs" does not, of course, only go to the kin of suicide bombers - it goes to families of all those killed by Israelis, most of whom have been struck down by American-made weapons. Certainly, America has never offered to make reparations for the innocents killed by the air-to-ground missiles and shells it has sold to Israel."

:: Jim Nichols 4/10/2002 04:26:00 AM [+] ::
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" It is simply extraordinary and without precedent that Israel’s history, its record- from the fact that it… is a state built on conquest, that it has invaded surrounding countries, bombed and destroyed at will, to the fact that it currently occupies Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian territory against international law- is simply never cited, never subjected to scrutiny in the U.S. media or in official discourse…never addressed as playing any role at all in provoking’Islamic Terror’."

Edward Said in " The Progressive," May 30, 1996.

:: Jim Nichols 4/10/2002 04:16:00 AM [+] ::
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So i've been stuck at an ethical fork in the road... its 20 bucks to go to san fran for the solidarity march... do I go? Because I know I should. I know I would be important as another number, which is the only way people with signs and banging on drums ever are, its such a joke. But the bigger the better. No publicity is bad publicity ya know. But at the same time, being selfish (and self-rightous), do I want to spend the day muttering under my breath "I don't like you" "You're a moron" "You are doing this cause some mythical being told you to be nice" "You're a fascist, like me" (we don't like our own). THe brilliance of the system is to change anything it takes organization or money... and organization means you have to stand your fellow human beings. And fact is I don't. Its an irrational pyschological creation of mine, but the rational side of me understands my own pettyness... so I split the differece. I'm sending the 20 bucks to the Sacto peace action network... organization or money. I'll pay some bills at least. Plus I can spend that day working on school... which is quite a radical action for me.

:: Jim Nichols 4/09/2002 11:27:00 PM [+] ::
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"Never advise anyone to go to war or to marry." -Spanish Proverb

:: Jim Nichols 4/09/2002 10:48:00 PM [+] ::
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Dear Cancer "You are not likely to be impressed by strong overbearing actions that try to lead you down a certain path." shocking was all the audience could say

:: Jim Nichols 4/09/2002 10:46:00 PM [+] ::
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The Taxonomist: The unrelenting corporate welfare lobby By Robert S. McIntyre

"So here we are, with corporate taxes down to historically low levels, last year's big upper-income tax cuts phasing in, and deficit spending and raids on the Social Security trust fund as far as the eye can see. The Bush administration's relentless drive to reprise "That Early '80s Show" continues unabated."

:: Jim Nichols 4/09/2002 10:43:00 PM [+] ::
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Poor oppressed conservatives
You know why the media is more liberal than the average american... cause they're more fucking educated fuck nuts...

I never said it wasn't a good thing that others actually take the time to make more mature rational arguments... I just said I'm not gonna do it....

Label Whores By Geoffrey Nunberg

THE CONTRADICTIONS OF CONSERVATIVE MEDIA CRITICISM. by Jonathan Chait

:: Jim Nichols 4/09/2002 10:36:00 PM [+] ::
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oh that
triskaidekaphobia \triss-kye-deh-kuh-FOH-bee-uh\ (noun) : fear of the number 13

It's impossible to say just how or when the number thirteen got its bad reputation. There are a number of theories, of course. Some say it comes from the Last Supper, because Jesus was betrayed afterwards by one among the thirteen present. Others trace the source of the superstition much farther back, to ancient Hindu beliefs or Norse mythology. But if written references are any indication, the phenomenon isn't all that old (at least, not among English speakers). Known mention of fear of thirteen in print dates back only to the late 1800s. By circa 1911, however, it was prevalent enough to merit a name, which was formed by attaching the Greek word for "thirteen" --"treiskaideka" (dropping that first "e") -- to "phobia" ("fear of").
Merriam-Webster, Inc.

:: Jim Nichols 4/09/2002 10:08:00 PM [+] ::
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Is Israel's Present America's Future? By Robert Wright


best points:

"Sharon's basic approach to fighting terrorism has been to find terrorists and kill them, a tactic that also lies near the heart of Bush's strategy. But so far, at least, the more terrorists Sharon kills, the more Israelis get killed by terrorists. You get the picture"

"The problem goes beyond suicide bombers (who obviously don't meet standard game-theory assumptions about rational self-interest), extending well up the chain of command. In January, Israel assassinated Raed al-Karmi, a leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Would this deter the group by sending a chilling message to its surviving leaders? Apparently not. Prior to the assassination, the Al-Aqsa Brigades had confined its terrorism to the occupied territories. Since the assassination, it has moved into Israel proper and has launched more suicide bombings than Hamas or any other group."

"Killing terrorists doesn't just fail to discourage aspiring martyrs—it can actually create more of them."

"Bush, similarly, says we need to address the sources of Islamic discontent, including poverty; but when it came time to open American textile markets to Pakistan—which Gen. Musharraf had requested in exchange for his courageous alliance with America—Bush balked."

"It's true that Bush was finally shamed into increasing foreign aid. It will go up by as much as $5 billion a year. But that's about one-tenth of the projected increase in annual Pentagon spending in the wake of 9/11."

"The point isn't that we shouldn't hunt terrorists. Obviously, it's good news that Bin Laden lieutenant Abu Zubaydah was just nabbed in Pakistan—and that his high-level colleague Mohammed Atef was killed during the Afghan war. But, in deciding when, where, and how to hunt terrorists, we should bear in mind that hunting them is more fraught with downside than, say, hunting bank robbers."

:: Jim Nichols 4/09/2002 10:02:00 PM [+] ::
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"Anti-militarists would be more effective in their work if they could see how safeguarding elite interests is the prime engine behind U.S. military expansion. The work we do to block certain weapons systems must be done in conjunction with organizing to undermine the for-profit, market-based economy that institutionalizes greed, concentration of wealth, and a class-based society that reinforces hierarchy and privilege at every turn." -Cynthia Peters

:: Jim Nichols 4/09/2002 09:33:00 PM [+] ::
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Earth at Night

Cool shit... click the pic its great...

:: Jim Nichols 4/09/2002 08:09:00 PM [+] ::
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Communism with a young face By James Pitkin

Eastern Europe's push west is still not going over as well as it was desired. Which is probably good for Democracy.

:: Jim Nichols 4/09/2002 07:43:00 PM [+] ::
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“I knew that I shouldn’t have, but I did it all the same; and there you have my epitaph, or one of them, because my grave is going to require a monument inscribed on all four sides with rueful mottoes, in small characters, set close together.” -Wonder Boys

:: Jim Nichols 4/08/2002 01:05:00 AM [+] ::
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"Many of the most valuable structures devised.... may require considerable effort to acquire. Music, mathematics, science and human rights are just a few of the systems of thought that must be built up layer by layer and integrated. Although understanding or creating such constructions is difficult, the need for struggle should not be grounds for avoidance." -Alan Kay

"Humans are predisposed by biology to live in the barbarism of the deep past. Only by an effort of will and through use of our invented representations can we bring ourselves into the present and peek into the future." -Alan Kay Computers,Networks and Education

:: Jim Nichols 4/08/2002 01:05:00 AM [+] ::
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Found Another Movie
Flix has been playing this movie Out of it
some funny lines...oh its bad....but its got Jon Voight
Paul Williams directed it... he's the guy who directed The Revolutionary (also with Voight and Robert Duvall) which I have honestly yet to see...

I think i've found a name for my movie addiction.... "Offbeat, low-budget youth flick" maybe its cause I think I am one.

:: Jim Nichols 4/07/2002 05:54:00 AM [+] ::
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Oh-oh tuesday is going to be a NEW Stars Hallow extravaganza! "There's the Rub" (I need a life) anyways here are some gems from "Lost and found":
LORELAI: Oh, I’m fine. I’m just being dramatic. It’s what I do.
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LORELAI: I’ve never seen so much stuff. It looks like a white trash Hearst Castle in here.
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LUKE: We can paint it.
JESS: You mean I can paint it.
LUKE: We can paint it together.
JESS: Great, then we can hold hands and skip afterwards.
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JESS: So we get curtains.
LUKE: Well, you’ll have to help me put them up.
JESS: Great, then we can hold hands and skip afterwards.
LUKE: Stop saying that.
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KIRK: I’ll give you fifty-five cents.
GYPSY: It’s sixty-five.
KIRK: Fifty-five cents.
GYPSY: Kirk, it’s for charity. There’s no haggling.
KIRK: Oh no, there’s always haggling. Sixty cents.
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LORELAI: And to make matters worse, she spots it: the single bed.
LUKE: What's wrong with a single bed?
LORELAI: You know what they say.
LUKE: No, what do they say?
LORELAI: Never, ever date a guy who owns a single bed. It means he's not open to a commitment.
LUKE: What?
LORELAI: It says there's no room in this life for anybody but me.
LUKE: No, it says there's no room in this bed for anyone but me.
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LUKE: Ten properties? What are you, buying up the town?
TAYLOR: Not yet, but someday – who knows?
LUKE: But why isn’t anyone stopping you?
TAYLOR: Because, my friend, people are lazy. They don’t wanna think about the proper fabric for an awning or the correct historical color for a building. They just slap any old thing up on a wall and sleep like babies. But soon, hopefully, the city council will put an end to that.
LUKE: Taylor, you cannot tell people what color to paint their buildings!
TAYLOR: Well, someone has to.
LUKE: No, they don’t. We don’t live in a fascist country.
TAYLOR: Oh, this isn’t about the fascists – who, by the way, had their faults but their parks were spotless.
LUKE: I have to get out of here.
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[Cut to Luke's, Jess is reading and listening to music as Luke walks in and takes a sledgehammer out of the closet. He walks across the room and swings the sledgehammer through the wall, then hands it to Jess.]
LUKE: That’s your room. Finish up. We’ll hold hands and skip afterwards.

:: Jim Nichols 4/07/2002 05:16:00 AM [+] ::
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Ah..hemmm.... U.S. taxpayers
"All I ask is that, in the midst of a murderous world, we agree to reflect on murder and to make a choice. After that, we can distinguish those who accept the consequences of being murderers themselves or the accomplices of murderers, and those who refuse to do so with all their force and being. Since this terrible dividing line does actually exist, it will be a gain if it be clearly marked." -Camus

:: Jim Nichols 4/07/2002 04:35:00 AM [+] ::
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A little old but still a good article for clarity of intentions Israel's True Intentions in Removing Arafat
By R.S. Zaharna
December 4, 2001
some major points:

"The sustained and myopic focus on the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, has little to do with stopping "terrorism." What removing Arafat will do is induce a Palestinian civil war and, by extension, give Israel a pretext for re-occupying the Palestinian territories."

"The Palestinian leader himself was reluctant to attend the talks at Camp David because he knew the mood among Palestinians was unfavorable to doing so. Under intense pressure from Clinton, he did come to Camp David. Despite repeated American assurances that the Palestinian leader would not be held accountable for potential setbacks, that is exactly what happened. Arafat was personally singled out as the reason for the failure at Camp David. Only months later did American officials privy to the talks reveal that it was the Israeli delegation that stalled."

"The Israelis, by intensifying the focus on Arafat and Palestinian “violence,” were able to downplay Israel’s continuing military occupation and Palestinian disenchantment with military occupation and the peace process that had perpetuated the occupation. The more Israel focused on Arafat and Palestinian “violence,” the more Israel was able to obscure the brutal realities of its military occupation."


"Israeli actions in early spring 2001 clearly suggest that Israeli actions to "maintain security," had a dual, longer-term, strategic purpose. First, the Israelis, by cordoning off the major Palestinian towns from each other and constructing a network of check points and trenches, were able to effectively isolate major segments of the Palestinian population from each other. The "power" of the Palestinian Authority was reduced to noncontiguous pockets of limited control."

"This is the beauty of an effective media campaign. So long as one can control perceptions through intensify and downplay techniques, the reality of the situation on the ground is meaningless. It is the perception that matters"

"The reality on the ground is that Arafat does not and cannot control Palestinian suicide bombers or attacks against Israelis. Both are the direct result of the continued Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territories. So long as the Israeli occupation continues, Palestinians will persist in their efforts to end that occupation, by whatever means. Israeli settlers and soldiers are particularly vulnerable to continued Palestinian attacks because they are viewed as the means and instruments of the Israeli occupation."

"If Arafat does yield to Israeli and American pressure to arrest all Palestinian militants (who are perceived by the Palestinian population as legitimately resisting Israeli occupation) Arafat will be removed from power and a Palestinian civil war will likely ensue."

:: Jim Nichols 4/07/2002 04:16:00 AM [+] ::
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