Reflections On Lebanon Crisis

Nice to see comments I have made here reflected in this weekends news stories on the Canada wide protests against Harper, Israel and the Lebanon debacle. The Conservatives Born Again Politics of the Rapture have created their first serious political crisis for the Harpocrites one that will lose them votes as I have said.

The Death Of A Tory Majority
In being too cavalier about civilian casualties and too slow to evacuate Canadians from Lebanon, the Prime Minister and the federal government created his administration's first significant crisis. Even worse, much of the criticism comes from Quebec where the Arab population is large and where Harper hopes to fashion his majority.It's not yet clear that the Prime Minister and an inner circle obsessed with micromanagement have the capacity to meet international or domestic challenges. Harper learns a lesson in geopolitics

Harper Micro-Management Disaster
What was initially an astute move ended up looking like a hollow political gesture. Why didn’t the prime minister send the Airbus to Cyprus empty and return home by other means? He could have easily sent for a Challenger jet for himself and had the rest of his entourage return to Canada on commercial flights.We could call it ‘The Harper plan’

If Harper has any chance of turning this situation around, he must abandon his controlling style. It is one thing to be a decisive, action-oriented leader. It is another to micro-manage the activities of cabinet ministers and those public servants who have more experience in the field than their political masters.Harper's decision to manage the crisis largely from his office reinforces a dangerous trend. He, and he alone, inflicted severe damage on the government this week.Inexperienced PM spoke too soon

Lebanon Protest At Alberta Legislature
"The amount of people who showed up today, it's inspiring," she said. "It shows that Canadians do care and that our prime minister is not reflective of the country."Anti-war protestors march on Israeli, US consulates


We Are Hezbolah
Hussein Hammoud, his wife Maryan and their four children watched from the back of the crowd at the Toronto protest, peeking over hundreds of placards and Lebanese flags to see the speakers.The Lebanese-Canadian couple have scores of family members in southern Lebanon, some of whom have had houses destroyed since the bombings started."We are all with the leader of Hezbollah," said Hammoud. "God bless him and we are praying for him to defend us, and defend our children."Protests leave no doubt about public feeling

Right Wing Rapture Over Israels War

Closet classical liberal Buchanan also alleged that "Israel and her paid and pro-bono agents here appear determined to expand the Iraq war into Syria and Iran, and have America fight and finish all of Israel's enemies." He also said that already "Bush is ranting about Syria being behind the Hezbollah capture of the Israeli soldiers . . . Who is whispering in his ear?"

Besides me, there are the right Reverend John Hagee, the right Reverend Jerry Falwell and the Christians United for Israel (CUFI). But they don't have to whisper anymore. The day of election cometh, and cometh right soon. Even Dubya knows that you dance with them that brought you. John Hagee and Jerry Falwell are among those brought Dubya to the big dance. So they can speak as loudly as they please in preaching to the president and members of Congress that a war with Iran is necessary in order to get Armageddon rolling so Jesus can come again. According to writer Sarah Posner, "Hagee has spent the past six months mobilizing popular support for a war with Iran." Hagee argues that America and Israeli should launch a pre-emptive strike on Iran before it can develop any nuclear capability.

By mere convenient coincidence, CUFI is throwing a national hoe-down in Washington. The convention has been scheduled for some time and is believed the first time conservative Christians have come together to lobby Congress to fully support Israel and its middle east policies. Some thirty five-hundred conservative Christians attended the opening night, Wednesday, July, 19 where they danced and sung the Star Spangled Banner and Hatikva in Hebrew as they waved American and Israeli flags.Pat Buchanan asks "Where are the Christians?"

Most Americans who hold these beliefs today describe themselves as evangelical or born again. Depending on how they define themselves, their numbers range in polls from 50 million to 102 million. Not all adhere to strict fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible.

But many do believe the Second Coming of Christ will occur in the Middle East after a titanic battle with the Antichrist, and that what is written in Revelation will come to pass – exactly as written.

Polls from organizations such as CNN and Time found that while 36 percent of all Americans believe the Bible is God's word and should be taken literally, even more – 59 percent – say they believe that events predicted in the Book of Revelation will come to pass, and nearly one in five believes that he or she will live long enough to see the end of the world.

Those studies also found that more than a third of Americans who support Israel do so because the Bible teaches that Jews must possess their own country in the Holy Land before Jesus can return. Different readings of the Bible's final chapter

World On Fire-Who Sells The Matches

On Capitol Hill, the Israel lobby commands large majorities in the House and Senate. Polls show strong public support for Israel, a connection that has grown deeper after the Sept. 11 attacks. This is the popular equation: Israelis equal good guys, Arabs equal terrorists.

Working the Hill these days, says Josh Block, spokesperson for the premier Israeli lobbying group known as AIPAC, the American Israel Political Action Committee, "is like pushing at an open door."

Not everyone believes this is a good thing.

In March, two distinguished political scientists, Stephen Walt from Harvard and John Mearsheimer from the University of Chicago, published a 42-page, heavily footnoted essay arguing that the Bush administration's support for Israel and its related effort to spread democracy throughout the Middle East have "inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardized U.S. security."

The professors claim the intimate partnership with Israel is dangerous and unprecedented. "Other special-interest groups have managed to skew foreign policy, but no lobby has managed to divert it as far from what the national interest would suggest," they argue. They go on to say that the war in Iraq "was due in large part to the lobby's influence," and that it's "using all of the strategies in its playbook" to pressure the administration into being aggressive and belligerent with Iran.

The bottom line: "Israel's enemies get weakened or overthrown, Israel gets a free hand with the Palestinians and the United States does most of the fighting, dying, rebuilding and paying."
A sweet deal for Israel

Also See:

Israel

Lebanon

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We Are Hezbolah

As Israel makes war on two fronts, Lebanon and Palestine, the Palestinian front has been pushed out of the news by the attacks on Lebanon.

During this week attacks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Israeli army killed 26 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including five children and two women, and injured at least 200 civilians including 55 children, 5 women, and two journalists. Two children also died from previous wounds.

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli army killed 20 people, including 16 in offensives on the city of Beit Hanoun and al-Maghazi refugee camp, bringing the number dead to 108 since Israel began the military operation Summer Rain on June 28.

In the West Bank city of Nablus the Israeli army killed four residents; three were members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the armed wing of Fateh. Thirty-three civilians were also injured, including journalists and members of a medical crew.

In the West Bank city of Nablus the Israeli army demolished a municipal headquarters that includes a central jail, the military intelligence department and the police department. In Gaza, the Israeli army bombed and destroyed the Ministries of the Economy and Foreign Affairs, in addition to several houses and two bridges.

The Israeli army temporarily reopened Rafah Crossing border in coordination with the third party observers after holding six thousand people hostage at the crossing for three weeks. Five people died at the crossing before Israel lifted the closure for two days.

The Israeli army illegally arrested at least 31 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and 5 in the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank city of Nablus at least 150 Palestinians were illegally detained for various lengths of time and held without charges.

While demonising Hamas and Hezbolah as terrorist organizations, the reality is that both organizations are political and military, whose existence is the result of Imperialist machinations of the West in the Middle East. Their origins begin with the American war in Lebanon twenty years ago, and the Iraq Iran war, which the Americans aided and abetted, in order to destabilize the region for the benefit of their client state Israel.

Hezbolah is begrudgingly credited with being a serious military organization, better prepared to battle Israel than Lebanon's army or even Hamas. And we need to remember that. This is not a terrorist organization, nor is it a minor armed struggle faction, it is in fact a well armed and organized military force.

Its existence was the result of the Iraq/Iran war, thank you America. I could go on here about chickens coming home to roost, but that point seems lost on the commentators who would rather run around like chickens with their heads cut off, or chicken little, saying "gee why is this happening?".

The reality is that Hezbollah should be given credit where credit is due, they did something none of their Arab allies dared to, that is show military support for the Palestinians after the Israelis invaded Gaza.

What reporters and commentators continue to ignore, is that Israel had already been bombing and attacking Gaza, including the killing of innocent civilians which it denied doing, prior to the kidnapping of one of its soldiers.

Hezbollah then kidnapped another set of soldiers in solidarity with Palestine. Seems straight forward to me. Since Israel is holding thousands of Palestinians illegally in jails, the demand was for their release. Which Israel has complied with before, so the expectation is that they would again.

With a concerted effort by the West to delegtimize the Hamas government in Palestine, complete with economic boycotts producing a real humanitarian crisis in the region, Israel has been at war with the Palestinians since the beginning of the year.


Of course with the worlds attention diverted by the American war in Iraq and Afghanistan, another two front war, Israel knows it can declare war on the Palestinians with nary a peep from the West. And in fact can expect the Americans to support it without question, which they do, since the Israeli state is doing its masters bidding.

Hezbollah made a bold and daring political and military feint at the Israeli military state. This so called bastion of parliamentary democracy in the Middle East is nothing of the kind, they are a militarized state capitalist regime, fascism by any other name, a terrorist founded state that uses state terror against its enemies.

Israel's strategy of retaliation dates back to the 1950s when it was largely conducted by a young officer named Ariel Sharon.


Hezbollah is not Hamas, nor are they Fateh, allowing Nablus and other Palestinian cities to be pounded mercilessly while holding press conferences denouncing Israel.

The systematic bombing of Southern Beirut has created an exodus of civilians, and the disappearance of Hezbollah fighters into the hills, preparing for the inevitable Israeli invasion.

Hezbollah, defeated Israel before, and can face a strategic military fight with Israel again. Israel admits as much, thus it is attacking Lebanon's infrastructure to demoralize the population, it is a terror attack, to undermine support for Hezbollah. Its impact has been the opposite.

What really worries Israel is the potential for a three front war, that is if Syria becomes involved, so the merciless destruction of Lebanon is a warning to neighboring states to keep out of this battle.

So the focus on Syria has been their supposed link to Hezbollah, as if anyone could tell Hezbollah what to do, in reality the subtext has been keep out of this.
Israel and its American allies are worried about a third front being opened up in this war.

Two front wars historically lead to defeat as we saw with both Napoleon and Hitler. Hezbollah has correctly estimated that if they attack Israel, it creates a military problem for Israel, and reduces its ability to continue attacking Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

While the world moans and groans about Lebanon, the continued war against the Palestinians gets lost in the news coverage. We need to remember this through all the lies and distortions, that Israel declared war on the Palestinians, economically, politically and militarily, with support of America and its Western syncophants, back when Hamas was "democratically' elected.

The Palestinians and Hezbollah have no real allies amongst the Arab nations. They are fascist medievalist states, oil partners with America or its economic dependents, like Jordan, fearful of the Palestinian cause being used to rally the masses to overthrow the regimes in power. The Arab Leagues denunciation of Hezbollah has more to do with this than with their alliance with the West in the War on Terror. Whatever that is.

America and Israel now fight losing battles in the their two front wars, the worlds greatest military power and its client state are being stretched beyond their capabilities militarily in the Middle East.

Having failed to learn the lessons of the British Empire, the American Empire is bogged down in the very region that led to the demise of that earlier Empire. The military politics of the Cold War are at work here again, instead of Commies its Terrorists. When the Cold War heated up in Viet Nam, the lessons learned from that war have been lost on the American Empire, both Republicans and Democrats have failed to remember that a peoples war can defeat a more technologically superior military power.

Hezbollah has not forgotten that lesson, and in taking the fight to Israel has become a rallying point for Arab dissention in the Middle East. When the Lebanese population, regardless of religious beliefs, cry We Are Hezbollah, then America, Israel and the Arab League, tremble in fear.

The war on Hezbollah is a war against mass uprising in the Middle East. A victory for Hezbollah, could well precipitate such a revolt. Defeating Israel on the battle field and forcing it back across the border, could ignite a fire storm of revolution in the Middle East.

That America wants Israel to take out Hezbollah is clear, it helps their oil allies in the Arab League as much as it helps Israel. America refuses a ceasefire agreement, in hopes Israel can defeat Hezbollah militarily. The hopes of the Arab League are that Israel can defeat Hezbollah as well, for if not, their regimes will crumble as the Arab masses see that the Great Powers can be challenged and defeated. We Are Hezbollah will be the rallying cry of revolt in the Middle East if they are successful, and woe betide the regimes in Egypt,Jordan, Saudi Arabia, etc.

Also See:

Israel

Lebanon

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Sabath

Israeli troops mass on Lebanon border CNN

While CNN did its invasion watch yesterday,
someone on staff who was Jewish, heck even Muslim,
should have reminded them it was the Sabath
and there would be no invasion until after the Sabath.
As in Saturday night. Dummies.

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Israel

Lebanon

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God Who?

A new book says that 80 percent of American teens believe in God -- but their God is a buddy who props up their self-esteem, and many don't even know who Jesus was.

Smith and his colleagues discovered that while three-quarters of their subjects professed to be Christians, they're dazed and confused when it comes to articulating their beliefs. "We go to church, and ... God is coming back again and he'll take us to heaven. And what was the other one?" was a typical attempt. One 14-year-old girl, through barely contained yawns, pointed to her Internet and cable connections as proof of God's goodness. And she wasn't the only one who saw God as a big cable guy in the sky. Most kids' faith, says Smith, takes the form of what he calls moralistic therapeutic deism -- God is an undemanding, all-fulfilling entity existing only to help us feel better about ourselves.

That sums it up perfectly. An all consumable God. Capitalisms ultimate commodity. And it gives a whole new meaning to the phrase; Thank God for the Internet.

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Wente Whines

A BCer in Toronto notes the slimy callousness of the Blogging Tories who are denouncing Lebanese Canadians who are seeking evacuation from the war zone as whiners.

In the MSM this same attitude was shown by Margret Wente token right wing housefrau columnist for the Globe and Mail.

In her column yesterday World's best insurance policy (sorry its locked) she says basically immigrants to Canada who become Canadian citizens expect cradle to the grave protection by the Canadian goverment, even when abroad. Such ingrates she says to expect the Canadian liberal social democratic state to protect its citizens no matter the expense. She herself who is originally an American forcefully transplanted here by her parents. Such an ingrate.

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Journalism Safe From Bloggers

Whew just the thought that Blogs might replace the MSM had journalists in the U.S. all in a dither, now proves to be a flash in the pan from the last US election. Whew all those blogging journalists can now go back to writing regular columns thanks to the latest Pew Poll. Survey Says: Blogs Not Replacing Journalism Just Yet

Of course blogging is a personal journal type of activity as the poll found out. Journal writing, hmmm journalism, gee what could the connection be? Samuel Pepys perhaps.

For all the stories on this poll click here.


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Right Wing Rapture Over Israels War

I commented here yesterday on how the American Right Wing Fundamentalist Christians view Israel as the source of the Rapture and the second coming of Christ. I was not the only one to note this fact.

Cheerleading the Apocalypse

And then, of course, there is the Republican base, the people who stand by Mr. Bush because they believe him to be the right arm of Jesus Christ. The fundamentalist far-right branch of Christianity that has established itself as the most powerful force in electoral politics is heeded by this administration because they owe their tenure to these people.

A lot of them are thrilled by what is happening in the Middle East. An internet forum called "Rapture Ready" offers some insight into that particular breed of right-wing Christian who cannot wait for the Apocalypse. "Gosh!!!" writes one poster, "Here we are making plans to move to the east coast and we might not even have to move after all. I say, come quickly Lord!!!"

"Israel is not a land of un-walled villages so this is probably a war that will result in that," writes another poster. "Then Gog and Magog will come. But I believe we could be raptured before. I believe before Damascus is destroyed God may rescue His children out of there." Yet another poster writes, "In another thread, someone brought up the fact that the kidnapping of the first Israeli soldier that started this whole thing was on June 25th, and if you count from that day to August 3rd ... it is EXACTLY 40 days!!!!! I find that to be a HUGE coincidence."

Etc.

Mr. Bush is accounted as the unofficial leader of these people, listens to them, and has surrounded himself with violent men who share violent dreams.



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The Reason For American Silence Over Lebanon

Thousands of Israeli bombs have fallen on Lebanese homes, roads, bridges, ports, broadcasting towers and even a lighthouse, killing hundreds of people, mainly civilians, in the campaign against Hezbollah guerrillas. Analysts say Israel's targeting of civilian and government infrastructure overshadows its strikes on the offices and rocket launchers of Hezbollah guerrillas, whose capture of two Israeli soldiers triggered the attacks. Military analysts question value of bombing civilian targets

Just like the Clinton administrations war on Serbia, where in order to free Kosovo they bombed civilian targets. Thus the reason for the silence of the Bush regime over Israels actions.That so called humanitarian war will continue to haunt the Americans and their allies.

Also See:

Israel

Lebanon

Lebanon,Israel, Lebanese,politics, Middle-East,

Harper Micro-Management Disaster

Foreign affairs put Harper to test

In an interview, the prime minister concluded his longest foreign tour -- and his most serious predicament -- with the frank observation."One of the biggest surprises I've had in this job has been the degree to which foreign policy has really taken a lot of my time," he said as he prepared to board his plane for the return flight home.

Oh sure so he micro-manages Foreign Affairs, when he has a Minister to do that for him. Instead the PMO had to approve every little thing being done around the crisis in Lebanon, including the usual keeping their actions underwraps from the media. Our autocratic PM's involvement meant that this evacuation became a disaster in the waiting thanks to his micro-management. His useless trip to Cyprus was another photo-op, when in fact he could have sent his Air Bus there empty to pick up Canadians, and flown home on the Canadian Challenger. The Harper mission of mercy was a cynical political ploy, the reality is that the PMO screwed up the rescue mission by its inherent need to keep King Stephen's fingers in every pie. Now he has pie on his face.

Evacuation begins in earnest

The government reacted angrily to a report in Thursday's Globe and Mail that micromanagement by the Prime Minister's Office contributed to confusion and delays surrounding the evacuation of Canadians from Beirut.

Mr. MacKay leaped to the defence of the PMO and strongly criticized the story in a letter to the editor that he released to other media.

The report said there were not enough staff at the Canadian embassy in Beirut to cope with the thousands of frantic Canadians seeking help and described the difficulties in organizing an evacuation by water when there were no Canadian naval vessels in the area and many countries were bidding for the same commercial ships.

Federal sources said the situation was exacerbated by the Prime Minister's centralized command and communications policies and an edict from Sandra Buckler, the Prime Minister's communications director, that no information be released on the evacuation efforts.

Also See:

Israel

Lebanon

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Media Bias

Media Matters Finds Conservative Bias on Sunday Interview Shows

In the US on both Network and Cable News shows. Say it ain't so!

Come on this ain't news. Just compare US coverage of the News compared to BBC World or CBC all American news talk shows are to the right. Heck compare Hard Talk on BBC to Hardball on MSNBC, on Hardtalk they crucified Rumsfeld, he actually was sweating, especially when Tim Sebastian asked him about his trip to Iraq to seal a deal with Saddam. On Hardball Chris Mattews likes to run the ad where he gets Rumsfeld to stumble on an anwser....to a mundane light weight question.

While the world burns, floods, explodes in the US news is navel gazing stories about lost kids, car chases, etc.

When it comes to Sunday Talk and Politics News programing, well sheesh the only TV program that comes close to being capable being like BBC or CBC or heck even Question Period on CTV is the Daily Show. And it's on the comedy channel.



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