Wednesday, July 09, 2014

Shooting Fish in a Barrel

No doubt you all know that three Israeli teens were kidnapped and murdered by someone. Netanyahu immediately blamed Hamas although there was no evidence that Hamas was the guilty party (as it turned out the kidnappers and murderers were three extremists acting on their own). Although the Israelis knew the three were dead they did not acknowledge this until after they conducted air and other strikes on Gaza, essentially bombing and killing many innocent Palestinians who had nothing to do with this horrible event, by the way, a blatant violation of International law (when did Israel ever pay any attention to International law?). 
Not to be outdone, three Israeli extremists kidnapped a Palestinian teen and burned him alive. This, of course, enraged the Palestinians, some of whom began firing rockets into Israel, not very effectively. This was one of those opportunities Israel never passes up to increase their genocidal attacks on Gaza Palestinians. They have been bombing Gaza for days and massing troops and tanks on the border for an actual invasion of that unfortunate little strip of land, an overreaction with no other explanation than wanting to eliminate as many Palestinians as possible using this recent violence as an excuse. As a million and a half Palestinians have been herded into tiny Gaza where they have no viable army or air force, no tanks and heavy equipment, no way of successfully fighting back, they are completely vulnerable to whatever horrors Israel wishes to visit on them. So, while it is true Hamas may be firing rockets into Israel, the asymmetry of power is so overwhelming and obvious the metaphor of fish in barrel seems perfectly apt.  

The amazing truth of this seems to be that, in fact, no one in the world, least of all the United States, seems to care what happens to the Palestinians. Some European nations propose some relatively minor sanctions but no one seems willing to demand the Israelis cease their obvious genocidal behavior “or else.” There is no serious “or else” involved, just unremitting warnings that Israel should stop building illegal settlements, stop their racism, and so on. All talk, no actions. Israel has for years ignored the United Nations, ignored International law, and thumbed their nose at the International community, to say nothing of common decency and human rights. The U.S. is shamefully complicit in this completely out-of-date, racist, colonial, criminal, enterprise. Even the savage beating of a U.S. teenager by Israelis does little but raise a few eyebrows while offering Israel even more money to continue ”protecting themselves” from their neighbors they, themselves. antagonize and insult on a daily basis. Pity the poor, defenseless Israelis, with the most sophisticated and strongest army in the Middle East, to say nothing of their unique stockpile of nuclear arms, they are so put upon by the basically defenseless Palestinians.

Do we hear the truth about what is happening? No, we do not. Do we hear the truth about what is happening in the Ukraine? No, of course not. Do we hear the truth about Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Africa, China, or anywhere else we are meddling and causing trouble? No, we definitely do not. Is it all about oil and other resources we want and the military means we employ to get them? Of course. Is it all shamefully disgusting? You bet. Is it the American Way? You might be able to decide if you did not presently exist in totally surreal web of lies with no connection to reality.  A “grain of salt” no longer suffices, maybe a collective and massive dose of electro-shock (sorry, can’t afford it, have to have more tax breaks for the 1%).

  “I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization.” 



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