No! No! No!

I do not want to write this. I do not want to deal with this. I do not really even want to think about this. But I am so outraged I simply cannot let it pass. Israel has now announced they are going to take another 1.000 acres of private Palestinian land for more settlements. Apparently not happy with failing to annihilate the Palestinians entirely by violence they are reverting to their strategy of more slowly and insidiously attempting to get rid of them.

Among other things I guess you could regard this as chutzpa magnified by a thousand or more. This announcement not only blatantly insults President Obama, Kerry, and others, it also insults the entire world community, to say nothing of violating ordinary morality. The U.S. has asked them not to do it, but it is not at all obvious what will happen if they go ahead and do it anyway, which they quite likely will. After all, they have been doing illegal, criminal actions for years with no particular restraints from anyone, why should this time be any different. No doubt the UN will utter a few “tut tuts,” and the U.S. will say don’t do it, but the Israelis will do whatever they want, secure in the knowledge that the U.S. Congress will back them 100 per cent. The Israeli government has no shame and will obviously do anything and everything to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state. The UK will threaten some mild sanctions, the U.S. will support Israel, and the hopeless situation in the Middle East will continue as is. Unless, of course, ISIS (or ISIL, or IS, or whatever it is) eventually forces the issue. The IS is not, however, the only “cancer” in the region, Israel has fulfilled that condition for years.

Here are my suggestions for the Israeli/Palestinian problem and peace in the Middle East:

Israel should be forced to retreat to the l967 borders.

All illegal settlements should be vacated by Israelis and given to the Palestinians.

Israel should be required to rebuild Gaza.

Israel should be required to acknowledge the basic humanity of the Palestinians as well as their human rights.

There should be a viable Palestinian state with no supervision or control by Israel, their own airport and seaport, and freedom to travel as they wish.

Far-fetched, yes, I know. It will never happen unless Israel is forced by the international community (and the U.S.) to comply. Of course Israel will whine about their security as usual but if they would simply act responsibly towards the Palestinians their security would be greatly enhanced. And with the finest military in the region they would be safe enough from any serious challenges from others. As far as their much vaunted nuclear power goes, it is as useless as it is everywhere else in the world. Their perceived threats from Iran, Hamas, and others are as paranoid and imaginary as Netanyahu can make them. “Give peace a chance” is a slogan completely foreign to the Israeli administration.

Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.

– Albert Einstein 

No,...

No, my personal Journey to the West did not come to a premature or unexpected end. Yes, I m still alive. Yes, I have not been blogging for the past month. No, I am not giving up Morialekafa entirely although I am somewhat tempted to do so after these last ten years, especially the last two or three years.

My problem, aside from the nightmarish experience I have had recently trying to change from one computer to another (ongoing), is that I find I no longer believe anything I hear or read. I am convinced that ordinary people like myself now live in a completely surreal world of lies and obfuscations. As I can’t believe anything anymore I have nothing to offer but opinions based on what I more or less “kind of believe.” I do not, for example, believe that Russia is the villain in the ongoing troubles in the Ukraine. I do not believe that the recent Israeli/Hamass “war” was caused by Hamass any more than by Israel (in fact I am much more inclined to blame Israel as they have been the brutal occupying power for so long). In any case, as I do not know the facts of anything anymore, I merely have to surmise what seems to me to be the most probable reasons for anything. Ditto when it comes to Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Iran, wherever.

One result of this unfortunate situation is that I feel I can no longer vote for any national candidate. I cannot vote for Hillary Clinton because she is an obvious supporter of Israeli genocide. But none of the Republican candidates are any different, they all have voted overwhelmingly for genocide. As there will not be a candidate running on a platform to curb the blatant Israeli war crimes and attempted genocide, I will not vote for anyone.

Similarly, I believe that President Obama should be impeached, not for any ridiculous reason having to do with domestic problems, especially Obamacare, but for his support of genocide. He has actively aided and abetted the Israeli assault on Gaza, provided them with ammunition and funds, and basically did nothing to curb them. But how could he possibly be impeached for war crimes and genocide when the entire Congress of the United States is equally guilty?

All of this unfortunately feeds into my fear that the human species will be ultimately doomed to extinction. But somehow I cannot believe that human beings in general are so stupid and greedy. The basic problem seems to be that those in charge (our leaders) have been and are failing us in favor of vested corporate interests that put increasing amounts of money into their  pockets to get the results they want. As a result of this legal bribery (how it became legal is an interesting phenomenon in its own right) the public interest has become totally irrelevant to what goes on in the corridors of power. The public is sick of “war,” but this doesn’t stop us from engaging in endless wars, the public is sick of no sensible gun control but we still have none, the public wants a reasonable immigration policy but there is none, the public wants a raise in the minimum wage but it is proving very difficult, and so on and on and on.

With the vast majority of Congress on the side of corporate power, along with our corrupt Supreme Court, and also apparently the Executive Branch, there seems to be little chance of change in the future. We are well along to a Fascist situation where government and corporations have all the power and ordinary citizens have less and less. As this seems to me to be true, and there is no relief in sight, I am inclined to withdraw and refuse to participate in this farce any longer. I have no respect for the Israeli government and similarly no respect for my own which does nothing to force Israel to cease and desist in its obvious goal of ridding themselves of Palestinians. When even Elisabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders refuse to condemn what Israel has done I see no hope whatsoever for the Middle East. And as the current situation there is a direct result of our meddling incessantly in the affairs of others (mostly for oil and short term profits), there will be no hope until our “empire” collapses.

Everything that everyone is afraid of has already happened: The fragilityof capitalism, which we don't want to admit; the loss of the empire of theUnited States; and American exceptionalism. In fact, American exceptionalism isthat we are exceptionally backward in about fifteen different categories, fromeducation to infrastructure.

James Hillman

  

American Dementia

de·men·tia

 noun \di-ˈmen(t)-shə, -shē-ə\

medical : a mental illness that causes someone to be unable to think clearly or to understand what is real and what is not real.

I think it is entirely possible that Americans suffer from a form of collective dementia. Certainly we have a problem understanding what is real and what is not real. First we seem to cling to the belief that we are a democracy (false), second, we seem to want to believe we are so exceptional we are indispensable to the rest of the world (we are now regarded, along with Israel, as the greatest threat to world peace), third, we believe that we have morality and right on our side no matter what), fourth, we believe we are the only superpower left in the world (having never won a war after WWII except, perhaps, over Granada), and fifth, we believe we lead the world in education, science, and economy (demonstrably demented as this is no longer true).

It is not entirely clear to me that dementia is necessarily a condition that affects all Americans, it could well be that it mostly affects those in politics, from the President, Congress, and down to the Supreme Court. There are, for example, hundreds of thousands of citizens all over the world, including many in the U.S., marching to protest what is happening in Gaza. The same thing happened prior to the Iraq “war.” The powers that be pay no attention to these demonstrations. A majority of U.S. citizens want stricter gun controls, they are ignored, just as those who are anti-war are ignored. Our “leaders” cling to the insane belief that what we do is right and what others do is wrong. The situations in Israel and the Ukraine are excellent cases in point, even though in both cases what we think is right is absurd (insofar as much of what happens has to do with oil, right and wrong are basically irrelevant, oil always wins).

We do almost certainly lead the world in sheer hypocrisy. For example, we are the first to demand that leaders in other nations be arrested and tried for war crimes, but at the same time we allow our own acknowledged war criminals to walk around freely boasting of their crimes. Our President had now reduced our war crimes to the simple homily that “we tortured some folks.”

Perhaps a more interesting case in point has to do with genocide. Isis, that growing bunch of murderous religious extremists, has chased thousands of Yazidi religious believers into the mountains and threatens to kill them if they do not agree to convert to an extreme form of Muslimism. So, to prevent this possible genocide the U.S. has intervened and is now bombing Isis in conjunction with Kurdish forces trying to defeat them. This is all well and good and no doubt necessary (obviously we cannot tolerate religious extremists who want to (and do) kill everyone who doesn’t agree with them. Genocide, however, is apparently acceptable when it comes to Palestinians. Israel has herded a million and a half of them into a narrow strip of land where they can be humiliated, starved, and killed at will, all with the blessings of our President and almost all members of Congress. Oh, I know, you will say the two situations are not comparable as Hamas is firing rockets into Israel, whereas the Yazidi are helpless. Basically the Palestinians in Gaza are helpless, and also deprived of food and water, power, and basic necessities, and have been for years as the Israelis control everything having to do with their daily lives. Hamas, and the Palestinians, want the siege to be lifted so they can live normal human lives, Israel refuses and the siege will apparently continue forever. Not only does the U.S. accept this terrible situation it actively encourages and participates in it. Our policy is clear enough, protect the Yazidis from genocide but not the Palestinians.

You may argue that Israel is not engaged in genocide. I do not believe it. More and more Israelis are arguing that it is permissible to kill them, some arguing that killing Palestinian women is justified because they will just produce more “snakes,” (where have we heard this before, “nits make lice.”) Israel argues that is has the right to protect itself from “terrorists,” even though they themselves were former terrorists, but the only way you can see their killing of innocent Palestinian women and children as protecting them from  terrorism is by believing the children will eventually become terrorists. It is no different than other feuds, if you don’t kill the children they will seek revenge for the killing of their fathers and mothers, and on and on. President Obama says he feels no sympathy for Hamas, fine, I feel no sympathy for Israel. Israel is the only entity that can end this horror. They can do it tomorrow by acknowledging that Palestinians are humans just like the rest of us, that they have legitimate interests that need to be met, and that they will do their utmost to be fair and reasonable. Don’t bet on it, and don’t invest much in the future of Israel.

The first time it was reported that our friends were being butchered there was a cry of horror. Then a hundred were butchered. But when a thousand were butchered and there was no end to the butchery, a blanket of silence spread. 
When evil-doing comes like falling rain, nobody calls out "stop!"

When  crimes begin to pile up they become invisible. When sufferings become unendurable the cries are no longer heard. The cries, too, fall like rain in summer.”

Bertolt Brecht

"Talk"

There is certainly plenty of talk going around having to do with the Israeli/Palestinian blood bath. The Israelis of course blame Hamas, Hamas blames Israel, the UN condemns both parties, and even the US, an active participant in this dreadful bloody event, has managed to complain about the attacks on what are supposed to be UN safe havens. There are apparently marches all around the world condemning Israel while Israeli defenders continue mindlessly reciting their mantra, “Israel has a right to defend itself from terrorists.” Hamas is condemned for being a terrorist group by Israel and the U.S. but is not necessarily so considered by others. Israel is increasingly condemned by most of the world. It is obvious that both sides have committed obvious war crimes.

Having tried to follow this slaughter as well as I can (not very rewarding these days), I know that most of the talk consists of lies, truly obvious and transparent lies. The Israelis and their supporters lie constantly whereas Hamas also lies. It is virtually impossible to believe anything we are told by anyone, least of all the U.S. MSM. The UN charges Israel with probable war crimes, even crimes against humanity, the U.S. claims to be appalled at some of the recent Israeli military actions, Hamas is similarly charged, the accusations and denials go on and on endlessly, as they have, in fact, for years.  

The problem with all this talk is not only that it is a never-ending pack of lies, the problem is, it is just “talk.” We have heard all of this talk before, several times now. Every couple of years the Israeli siege of Gaza erupts in a cauldron of violence and killing, every couple of years the UN condemns Israel for war crimes and violations of international law, every couple of years the U.S. slaps them on the wrist (gently, of course) for building more illegal settlements, or destroying another Palestinian orchard, or more Palestinian homes, or running over an American girl with a bulldozer for defending a Palestinian home, or killing a couple of children for throwing rocks, and so on, an endless cycle of violence and destruction in which the Palestinians invariably lose physically although probably slowly gaining politically.

Nothing ever happens as a result of all this. The Israelis simply ignore the UN and world opinion, confidant their great ally the U.S. will veto any attempt to seriously charge them with anything (after all, Israel has the right to defend itself from terrorists, as well as from nonexistent Iranian nuclear bombs). As long as this situation continues there can, of course, be no possible peace in the Middle East.  As long as “talk” is the only action talk will just continue to no end whatsoever. Talk is not what is needed, what is needed is action. As Israel is itself the greatest impediment to peace, as it is now obvious they do not want a peaceful settlement, a Palestinian state, or a change in the status quo, and seem to be more and more hinting at a “final solution,” it is Israel that must be made to change unless, of course, the U.S. and the rest of the world are willing to tolerate the slow genocide of the Palestinians. Without some major intervention this will inevitably happen as even the Palestinian children who are not being murdered will be slowly destroyed by their lack of education and opportunities, food, and the ordinary materials for normal lives, to say nothing of their lack of parents and rewarding family lives.

Perhaps this latest violence, far worse than the last outbreak or the one before that, will force the world to realize they must act to solve this ulcerous sore than never seems to heal. The main key here, of course, will be the United States. Will the U.S. continue to support the unprecedented, torturous, punishing siege of Hamas and the inhumane treatment of the Palestinians, or will we finally say enough is enough and return to some semblance of decency and morality? Don’t bet on it, that AIPEC money is powerful, fairness and morality be damned.

The preservation of peace and the guaranteeing of man's basic freedoms and rights require courage and eternal vigilance: courage to speak and act - and if necessary, to suffer and die - for truth and justice; eternal vigilance, that the least transgression of international morality shall not go undetected and unremedied.

Haile Selassie

"The Final Solution"

Well, the Israeli massacre of Palestinians continues, with the virtually unanimous support of our President and members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, who seem willing, even eager, to supply more ammunition and funds to keep it going. Many members of Congress apparently do not even want a ceasefire, so eager are they to help Israel rid itself of Palestinians. Netanyahu piously claims (with a straight face) that they (the Israelis) have nothing against the Palestinian, it is only Hamas they are after (while continuing to murder more than 1500 innocent Palestinian men, women, and children who had nothing to do with Hamas).

There are increasing references in the written record to Palestinian “vermin,” “snakes,” and such, and one Israeli writer has even suggested the genocide of Palestinians would be justified (or legitimate), in an essay soon withdrawn for, I should think, obvious reasons. Those opposing a ceasefire and furnishing more ammunition would seem to think this continuing slaughter is also justified.

What the Israelis have done and are doing is UNFORGIVABLE, and is not going to be forgotten. Generations of Palestinians and other Arabs are not going to forget, and are highly unlikely to ever forgive, no matter what the Israelis do now (assuming they would ever do anything except go on killing).  And forget the pathetic bullshit about how Hamas started it when they fired rockets into Israel, or when they kidnapped three Israeli teenagers.  It started “way back when,” when Israel herded more an a million Palestinians into an outdoor prison and lay siege to them, slowly starving them, controlling every aspect of their lives, and also gradually killing them off. Where, by the way, came the authority to justify such a completely unprecedented act? Who gave Israel the authority to preside God-like over Palestinians? Why did the International community allow this to happen? More importantly for the moment, why does the world allow such a siege to continue?

Thus, far from protecting themselves from terrorists, Israeli greed, stupidity, and racism has guaranteed they will never be free of terrorists for many generations to come, if ever. Having managed to maneuver themselves into this impossible situation, If they want to be free of terrorists there is now, from their point of view, only one solution, “the final solution,” and they seem to be more and more embarked on it, both in their statements and their behavior. There is no other excuse for their massive extermination of thousands of innocent women and children, completely unjustified collective punishment for an entire population for the acts of a few. Why does protecting themselves from Hamas involve the indiscriminate killing of thousands of innocents? It doesn’t. And don’t buy into the crap about how carefully they are trying to protect civilians, a lie so blatant it betrays the obvious, they don’t give a damn for Palestinian lives.

Hamas has now made it clear, the siege must be lifted, they must be allowed to live normal lives like all other people, they would rather “die on their feet than live forever on their knees.” Obviously what Israel has done to the Palestinians should not be (or have been) allowed, a situation worse perhaps than even slavery. Israel has made it clear by now they do not want a Palestinian state and prefer to keep the status quo. This cannot continue if Israel truly desires “peace,” which they obviously do not. The outcome of this human predicament is not at all obvious. Are the U. S. and the rest of the world going to participate in the final solution? If not, what will they do? Unfortunately, and in fact, there may no longer be any other solution. Even if Israel agreed to return to the 1967 borders, apologized for their attempted genocide, even if they returned all the Palestinian lands and water they have stolen, even if they publicly repented for their outrageous behavior, and even if they made reparations and agreed to a viable Palestinian state, they still might not be forgiven . Remember the mark of Cain:  “When Cain spilled his brother's blood, the earth became cursed as soon as the blood hit the ground.” Genesis 4:12.

The Israelis may want to deny their basic brotherhood with the Palestinian “vermin,” but it exists in a higher morality they will be unable to deny forever. Although I may not be around to see it, their time will come, and it will not be pleasant.

“No one is more vulnerable to fear than a man who keeps another in bondage. He will do anything to prevent justice from rearing its head — for he knows well what he deserves at the hands of those he subjugates.” 
 

Jane Jensen

  

Not Much Hope

Even now I continue to resist concluding that all is hopeless. I fear hopelessness as that is the end. There is nowhere to go after hopelessness. But we are, I am convinced, certainly approaching hopelessness. We have a Congress that is so dysfunctional it does nothing. We have a President who is constrained from doing much of anything mainly because he is Black. And both our President and Congress have proven themselves to be morally bankrupt by their overwhelming and unconditional support for the blatant and continuing Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity. Personally, I find this not only appalling but virtually unbelievable. As both parties are equally in favor of this ongoing theft, murder, and genocide, I no longer participate at any level in this morally bankrupt national suicide. Having now reached the state of a pariah nation, along with the totally evil Israeli government, it is inevitable that we will eventually collapse because of our own mindless, aggressive, short-sighted, greedy, racist, egomaniacal, and ethnocentric behavior.

I see very little hope for the future, little more than a bare glimmer, and the odds, I think, are not good. The coming elections will give us our usual choice of voting for the lesser of two evils. Thus about the only chance we will have is a bit of a long shot. If Democrats hold control of the Senate, and if they also gain control of the House, there is a chance that at least some of our more domestic problems may be at least partly alleviated. But who becomes President will also be critical. I do not think Hillary Clinton is the right person at the right time but she, of course, would be far better than any of the potential Republican candidates. Hillary is sooo 1990’s, and far too much of a Hawk, to say nothing of her being in bed with Wall Street and corporate America. Even so, if we can achieve a completely Democratic sweep, and if we can perhaps get a more progressive President, we may have at least a foot in the door towards some meaningful change, at least domestically.

But this, of course, would still leave the issue of our absurd Foreign Policy that still wants to maintain the charade of American exceptionalism and empire. Overcoming the power of the Military/Industrial/Political complex will not be an easy task, it could even prove to be impossible unless it collapses because of its own excesses. It is not unrelated to our collapsing infrastructure, educational, and economic systems. If a Russian/UK merger occurs, or even a Russian/China merger, the U.S. will find it impossible to maintain world hegemony as it so desperately is trying to do.

I see truly monumental changes shaping up in the world, with the U.S. fading and alliances in Europe, Asia, and South America becoming more dominant and independent of U.S. control. I doubt that I will ever see President Obama and the entire Congress of the U.S., along with “Bibi” and his barbarian coterie, being tried in the Hague for war crimes but, then, one can’t expect everything. One has to cling desperately to whatever sliver of hope remains.

“For the powerful, crimes are those that others commit.” 

 Noam Chomsky

     

Ten Years!

Where DOES the time go? Today marks the 10^th anniversary of Morialekafa (a native New Guinea word meaning “insignificant little bug with no other name”). When I first began writing this blog I scarcely knew what a blog was but I thought it might be interesting to start one. It has been interesting. I have had readers from virtually every place on the globe, not because they look up Morialekafa itself, but because they are searching for some topic about which I happen to have written at some time, topics like sardines, pickled pigs feet, being an only child, deodorant, stuff like that.

Morialekafa was not intended to be particularly political although nothing was precluded. Because of the excesses of the Bush/Cheney years (the nightmare years) my blog became  increasingly political. Looking back on it I can scarcely believe all the things I wrote about, some of which I only vaguely remember and some that I don’t remember at all. I believe I have been reasonably consistent in my beliefs and values and I hope I have never been hypocritical (which seems to have become the most distinguishing feature of American politics).

I have no doubt that by far the best of Morialekafa was written in the first five years. If you look up “Five Years” in the archives (July 25, 2009), you will find an index of those years. At that time I was blogging almost every day as I continued to do for some time. In the past two or three years I have written less frequently and, I am sure, less creatively. The fact is, I have mostly lost interest in U. S. politics. It is pretty clear that both parties are very similar, they both no longer act in the public interest, favoring the wealthy and corporate interests almost exclusively. The hypocrisy and lying have become so blatant we, the public, no longer have any true idea of what is happening or why, and our voices are not heard by those who purport to represent us. Having been an ordinary democrat all of my life I have finally become a full-blown Democratic Socialist (in the mold of Bernie Sanders whom I very much admire). My limited creative powers have diminished as well as my interest in politics. I have thought seriously of just ending Morialekafa entirely (ten years is probably more than enough), but I know I will occasionally be motivated to write something, at least until my Journey to the West comes to an end.  

But frankly, I believe things have become so bad I no longer support either party. I no longer sign petitions (except rarely), I no longer donate money or time, I find I do not believe anything I am told by the media, and I have lost my faith in my country. Perhaps I am just getting old and cranky but I am sick of the whole business. More importantly, I do not want to even remotely be linked to the murderous, genocidal, colonial maniacs that currently insist on unconditionally supporting Israel’s attempt to rid the world of Palestinians. Our President and Congress apparently have no sense of either shame or guilt, just take the money, look the other way, and speak nobly of robbing the poor to feed the rich, killing the Palestinians and Russian/Ukrainians to feed the permanently greedy, and pretend that all is well with the world. After all, as we are constantly being told, it’s all Putin’s fault.

 “Imagine the people who believe such things and who are not ashamed to ignore, totally, all the patient findings of thinking minds through all the centuries since the Bible was written. And it is these ignorant people, the most uneducated, the most unimaginative, the most unthinking among us, who would make themselves the guides and leaders of us all; who would force their feeble and childish beliefs on us; who would invade our schools and libraries and homes. I personally resent it bitterly.” 

Isaac Asimov

 “I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.” 

Jonathan Swift