You are looking at posts that were written in the month of December in the year 2006.
For MY DYING BRIDE fans…
After 15 years in music business.. one of the english godfathers of heavy-gloomy metal bands puts a new album.. my dying bride never released three successive similar albums… and this case isnt an exception…
dark and moody.. sorrowful vocal and melodic tunes… the more you listen to it.. the more you are sure they remain great musicians and artists.
By JOHN V. WHITBECK
Now that the Palestinian civil war long sought by Israel, the U.S. and the EU appears on the verge of breaking out, it may be timely to examine the justification put forward by Israel, the U.S. and the EU for their collective punishment of the Palestinian people in retaliation for their having made the “wrong” choice in last January’s democratic election — the refusal of Hamas to “recognize Israel” or to “recognize Israel’s existence” or to “recognize Israel’s right to exist”.
These three verbal formulations have been used by media, politicians and even diplomats interchangeably, as though they mean the same thing. They do not.
“Recognizing Israel” or any other state is a formal legal/diplomatic act by a state with respect to another state. It is inappropriate — indeed, nonsensical — to talk about a political party or movement, even one in a sovereign state, extending diplomatic recognition to a state. To talk of Hamas “recognizing Israel” is simply sloppy, confusing and deceptive shorthand for the real demand being made.
“Recognizing Israel’s existence” is not a logical nonsense and appears on first impression to involve a relatively straightforward acknowledgement of a fact of life — like death and taxes. Yet there are serious practical problems with this formulation. What Israel, within what borders, is involved? The 55% of historical Palestine recommended for a Jewish state by the UN General Assembly in 1947? The 78% of historical Palestine occupied by Israel in 1948 and now viewed by most of the world as “Israel” or “Israel proper”?
The 100% of historical Palestine occupied by Israel since June 1967 and shown as “Israel” on maps in Israeli schoolbooks? Israel has never defined its own borders, since doing so would, necessarily, place limits on them. Still, if this were all that were being demanded of Hamas, it might be possible for it to acknowledge, as a fact of life, that a State of Israel exists today within some specified borders.
“Recognizing Israel’s right to exist”, the actual demand, is in an entirely different league. This formulation does not address diplomatic formalities or simple acceptance of present realities. It calls for a moral judgment.
There is an enormous difference between “recognizing Israel’s existence” and “recognizing Israel’s right to exist”. From a Palestinian perspective, the difference is in the same league as the difference between asking a Jew to acknowledge that the Holocaust happened and asking him to acknowledge that it was “right” that the Holocaust happened — that the Holocaust (or, in the Palestinian case, the Nakba) was morally justified.
To demand that Palestinians recognize “Israel’s right to exist” is to demand that a people who have for almost 60 years been treated, and continue to be treated, as sub-humans publicly proclaim that they ARE sub-humans — and, at least implicitly, that they deserve what has been done, and continues to be done, to them. Even 19th century U.S. governments did not require the surviving Native Americans to publicly proclaim the “rightness” of their ethnic cleansing by the Pale Faces as a condition precedent to even discussing what reservation might be set aside for them — under economic blockade and threat of starvation until they shed whatever pride they had left and conceded the point.
Some believe that Yasser Arafat did concede the point in order to buy his ticket out of the wilderness of demonization and earn the right to be lectured directly by the Americans. In fact, in his famous statement in Stockholm in late 1988, he accepted “Israel’s right to exist in peace and security”. This formulation, significantly, addresses the /conditions/ of existence of a state which, as a matter of fact, exists. It does not address the existential question of the “rightness” of the dispossession and dispersal of the Palestinian people from their homeland to make way for another people coming from abroad.
The original conception of the formulation “Israel’s right to exist” and of its utility as an excuse for not talking to any Palestinian leadership which still stood up for the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people are attributed to Henry Kissinger, the grand master of diplomatic cynicism. There can be little doubt that those states which still employ this formulation do so in full consciousness of what it entails, morally and psychologically, for the Palestinian people and for the same cynical purpose — as a roadblock against any progress toward peace and justice in Israel/Palestine and as a way of helping to buy more time for Israel to create more “facts on the ground” while blaming the Palestinians for their own suffering.
However, many private citizens of good will and decent values may well be taken in by the surface simplicity of the words “Israel’s right to exist” (and even more easily by the other two shorthand formulations) into believing that they constitute a self-evidently reasonable demand and that refusing such a reasonable demand must represent perversity (or a “terrorist ideology”) rather than a need to cling to their self-respect and dignity as full-fledged human beings which is deeply felt and thoroughly understandable in the hearts and minds of a long-abused people who have been stripped of almost everything else that makes life worth living. That this is so is evidenced by polls showing that the percentage of the Palestinian population which approves of Hamas’ steadfastness in refusing to bow to this humiliating demand by their enemies, notwithstanding the intensity of the economic pain and suffering inflicted on them by the Israeli and Western siege, substantially exceeds the percentage of the population which voted for Hamas in January.
It may not be too late to focus decent minds around the world on the unreasonableness — indeed, the immorality — of this demand and of the verbal formulation on which it is based, whose use and abuse have already caused so much misery and threaten to cause more.
John V. Whitbeck, an international lawyer, is author of “The World According to Whitbeck“. He can be reached at: jvwhitbeck@awalnet.net.sa
By JOHNNY BARBER
Jesus is a terrorist, there ain’t no one can doubt it. Born in Bethlehem, what more need I say about it? Thirty foot concrete barriers, soldiers armed with guns, being born in Bethlehem just ain’t much fun. Jesus stands on the corner, throwin’ stones at tanks. Israeli soldiers don’t hold back, they ain’t shootin’ blanks. Jesus stands defiant, a David ‘gainst Goliath. Jesus is a terrorist, he ain’t allowed to pass. Being born in Bethlehem, life is over fast.
Jesus is a terrorist, he ain’t allowed to pass. You know what they’re teaching, in those Christian schools in town. He’s learning hate against the state, and what it means to martyr. Jesus is a terrorist, he don’t need Jimmy Carter. Jesus knows all ’bout them virgins. That ain’t no lie they tell ya, once you pass them pearly gates, it pays to be a fella!
Jesus is a carpenter, but he’s not allowed to work. He passes time carving trinkets for those Christian tourist folk. They come and kiss the ground where Jesus once lay swaddled. They bargain him down, then they just turn on back around. They close their eyes to the soldiers, they close their eyes to the wall. Jesus, born in Bethlehem, don’t stand any chance at all.
Jesus rode a donkey once, straight on through to Jerusalem. Today, Jesus ain’t got a prayer, he’s not allowed to pass. Jesus can’t stoop low enough to kiss the soldier’s ass.
The tourists come back home, blind as before. They go to church, and they sing their songs, and look up on the wall. Jesus still is hangin’ there, saving them from the fall. But just like Judas, they turn their backs, no one heeds his call.
Cause Jesus is a terrorist, but don’t you worry none. It’s just a name they give you when you’re Palestinian. A savior born in Bethlehem- it’s quite a story, but just not rightcause Jesus is a terrorist, don’t you worry ’bout his plight.
Today, the people of Bethlehem are imprisoned behind a thirty-foot high concrete wall, unable to move. The Christian community cannot travel to Jerusalem to pray at the church of the Holy Sepulchre- a short, twenty-minute drive from Bethlehem. The Israeli military occupation, nearing its 40th year, has strangled the economy as well as the people living in the Holy Land, and there is no end in sight. The people are constantly at risk, not even their homes are safe, no sanctuary available- anywhere. The checkpoints and the military incursions are constant reminders that the life of a Palestinian in Bethlehem is cheap. And the Christian community, as well as the world, looks on in silence. At this time of year, as we remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus, may all Christians, and all people of faith, raise their voices and demand justice for the good people of Bethlehem and Palestine.
The occupation must end.
My hero is a pirate, but not of the “Caribbean” kind. Another kind altogether; not the sort you’d find swashbuckling or walking planks or cutlassing his foes, or even drinking rum with his parrot. No, this one prefers binary code and keyboards to eye patches and skull n bones. Yes, it’s The Pirates of the Soft-abbean, The software pirates. Those brave misfits who plunder the plentiful coffers of giant software companies to provide the poor and needy with sustenance and Microsoft office.
Yes, I’m not ashamed to admit it, Pirates these days are like miniature nerdy Robin Hoods. Forever selflessly stealing from the rich software lords, and giving to the poor PC user. Although where maid Marian fits in I haven’t yet figured out.
Pirates these days have many distinguishing features. Mainly the following:
1- Must be total and complete nerds
2- Must come from Russia, Malaysia or China, although some pirate sightings have been reported in Europe and North America
3- All work for free, they don’t make any profits from piracy.
4- When a pirate is busted, he either immediately goes to work for a big software company which pays him handsomely for his counter-piracy services, a privateer if you like, or he must pay a “bounty” and not use a computer for several years.
5- All pirates must be one step ahead and outsmart the idiotic copyright protection measures put in place by the major corporations. This is actually easier than it sounds because copyright measures are like child locks to those “in the know”
6- All Pirates achieve infamy through their pseudonyms, never their real names for fear of being busted. Just like Blackbeard, Long John Silver and Johnny Depp, Pirates these days have names like Razor 1911, Deviant and Johhny Depp!
So as you can clearly see, Pirates have clearly distinguishing features, namely anonymity, non-profiteering, silly names and nerdiness.
(more…)
There is no doubt that evolution is a challenge for those who seek the truth and facts about it… those who are truly serious about finding out what’s all the fuss about… why are we accused of being monkeys…The idea of evolution was even a problem for Darwin himself… but Darwin had the courage to choose science over superstitious.
Evolution also puts many issues under the spot.. moral and philosophical issues. That is why it is very hard to accept such an idea, even among many intellectual individuals, Specially those with religious beliefs.
More interesting, some religious groups suggested that evolution does not conflict with religion as we shouldn’t explain the story of Adam and eve literarily.
My issue here isn’t about the conflict between evolution and religion. I just want to explain some points about evolution that have been misunderstood.
Evolution simply means that we –humans – and all other forms of life, are the outcomes of nature’s mechanisms. The reason that makes us think we’re different is itself an outcome of evolution (our highly complicated brains). We tend to think that we are on top of life’s tree according to our brains, even though elephants have more efficient noses than ours, tigers have better and stronger legs that ours. We are not the best.. each organism is the best in its own environment.
Through evolution, viruses and insects have proven to be stronger and lasted more through all times, which makes them more efficient than mammals to live on earth. In fact they lasted more than any kind.
This is a link to some of the criticism used against evolution and its answers … this was published in scientific American
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000D4FEC-7D5B-1D07-8E49809EC588EEDF
To be continued…
