The Hubris of America
Oh, yeah - right. We've made the world
so much safer in our
War of Terror. Is anybody keeping tabs on the blossoming insurgency around the world?
Spain,
Britain, and now
India.
What we should've done is leave off our arrogant "Ameria Is Best" bullshit and worked with world leaders on a comprehensive solution toward world peace. Instead we go to war. Twice.
Safer.
You Betcha!
Totally Lame!
Can you believe
this? “Scooter” Libby is charged with lying. That’s like saying “Don’t get caught breathing,” to our Repugnant Party, so natural, so imbued in the political mentality is willful fabrication. If being caught in a lie is criminal, most of America is guilty. Business – especially sales departments – thrive on the fabrication of reality. Surely we have enough evidence to include governments in general and this administration in specific, as a cadre of liars. As if we need further evidence, we only need notice the White House reaction to the indictment.
Our Favorite Shrubbery ™ came to his defense, of course, not that our president had any clue what was going on – it’s not like he actually makes any decisions, anyway. Old George just blinked into the camera like a
Tasered Florida schoolchild, reading off cue cards.
While some members of the
Lefty Elite are clambering for the Hollywood premiere of “
Rove in Chains”, we already have the scapegoat, and the real decision makers will scrape by on this one. Mark my words. Really: to be caught out for lying is really pathetic considering the magnitude of the allegations, the time and taxpayers dollars wasted in this case. If that’s the best Mr. Fitzgerald can do this late in the game our dreams of karmic retribution are over. About the best we can hope for is a ninth-inning rally while the bases are loaded against us.
It is time to come out of the cupboard? No, not closet, that’s a different issue. I mean the cupboard I hide in during bowl games, march madness and – yes – the World Series. Forgive me for being a spoil sport (pun intended), but I cannot get excited about the corporate- fueled hype surrounding the battle of the bulging, steroid-enhanced biceps that occurs thrice a year as the team sport seasons close.
Let us examine the reason behind professional sports as matters stand in the twenty-first century: Pools of investors buy a Team; other investors, as unrelated corporate entity, buy a Stadium; together they have a singular goal – to enhance investor share value. To accomplish this, the sign talented young people who own a passion for the Game, pamper them, feed their egos, and generally treat them as demigods. Then there’s my personal issue with players salaries.
Professional sport salaries are as inflated as the hype, as untenable as the illusion of spectacle surrounding the whole industry. The hyperbolic value that is placed on whether Team A wins over Team X, fed through the feedback loop of paper-pushing news media, exacerbated by the unanswerable frustrations of Joe Sixpack, echoes with its own intrinsic emptiness. None of this has import.
I’m not saying this because I grew up in a family stigmatized by Chicago Cub fandom. Not at all. I say this as I read new reports about war, genocide, political corruption and the dissolution of the American Way; all the good stuff in the news these days. If we had but ten percent of the wasted money poured into the gaping maw of Professional Sports, Inc., and diverted it into (insert name of favorite global charity), we could be building a better world for our children by addressing hunger, disease, illiteracy or any other rampant social ills our highly mechanized, ultra-technological global society cannot find in their hearts or pocketbooks to conquer.
So as I stretch my cramped limbs, blink in the light outside my cupboard, hearing reports of how a Home Team swept the World Series and I yawn: Big Deal. Now we can get back to life, and shake ourselves of the self-indulgent illusion of fandom. As Buddhist say to maintain their perspective: “Will it matter in 100 years,” I say will it matter next year? If the answer is “No,” then it does not matter today, either.
Go, Sox.
Grand gestures of sweeping political reforms. National Security. Irrational exuberance combined with frantic urgency. A government unable to govern.
These are the ingredients in the latest unearthed evidence of ongiong rectal coring of the American people. Unisys corp has been bilking the governmet everywhere it can to swell a billion-dollar contract until it bursts. A few days ago we learned that a division of a division of Halliburton is using illegals to performs the jobs union electricians whould be doing, likely charging union scale, we now see how others are diverting up the Nationa Debt into corporate coffers.
This, my friends, is the crux of the Republican agenda: Maximizing shareholder value. (insert rhetorical question here) Who pays for this?
Tax cuts and more tax cuts.
Removing corporate accountability controls through legislation.
Two (count 'em) wars.
Growing government in the guise of national security.
Outrageous spending.
No-bid Contracting by the billions.
Cronyism.
Incompetence.
Tally it up, folks - it's your money on the line.
Impeach Bush!
The NRA, with it’s huge lobbying system, won a hollow victory yesterday. Hollow in that whatever laws are enacted today can be revoked tomorrow. Let them who love their weapons dance in the street waving their M-16’s like
Hamas militants; our nation is never very far from
violence in the streets at the best of times. These are not the best of times.
Hollow again, because the most powerful weapon ever created is replicated in all countries everyday. This weapon is so insidious, so dangerous, that the entirety of human history is replete with stories of the damage this weapon causes. From as far back as humans have recorded, this weapon has
maimed,
murdered, and committed
boundless atrocities, and yet never have the powerful addressed this problem. The weapon is?
The human mind: Nothing that man can create can rival the unparalleled destructive propensity of the human mind. The overwhelming majority of people cannot control their minds, cannot understand that to comprehend the inner workings of their consciousness is, in fact, the highest calling attainable to humanity. The simple act of knowing how our untamed minds can adversely affect ourselves and others, and the accompanying heart-felt desire to improve our own lives through taming our minds, can achieve wonders. This, more than any weapon, ideology or cultural bias, can transform the world.
Guns aren’t the problem. The problem is people.
George Bush and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas are meeting today. These guys have a lot in common: both are representatives of a minority faction desperately holding on to power any way they can; both are doomed to fail in their political goals. Both Men have ascended to power riding the backs (and pocketbooks) of extremist organizations within their own countries. Both men are hated by a majority of citizens within and without their regions of influence.
Among a variety of subjects, Mr. Bush will try to convince Mr. Abbas to allow candidates from Hammas into the government. Hammas, as you know, is the premier hate group within the Palestinian controlled territories. The sole purpose and the reason for being of Hammas is to abolish the Israeli State with as much bloodshed as possible.
President Abbas has tried, so far unsuccessfully, to pacify Hammas in order to fold them into whatever future there may be for Palestine; Hammas refuse to be marginalized. Perhaps they understand that to compromise their untenable position is tantamount to failure. Extremism cannot compromise.
That Mr. Bush thinks Hammas is just a bunch of good-old-boys is evident of his pressing for inclusion. This is like wanting American senators to represent the neo-Nazi movement. Based upon the usual “America is Best” hyperbole, the assimilation of Hammas is, as is most of Mr. Bush’s policies, fatally flawed. For billions of people worldwide, America is not “Best.” If that were the case we wouldn’t have to force democracy at gunpoint in trouble regions. See yesterday’s post on Liberia as example.
America should leave Israel to deal with its own solution. This cannot possible be as murderous, infantile, and crude as America’s ongoing War on Terror.™ Until and unless we learn to clean up our own transgressions, we have no place forcing a leader of a depressed people, a leader of a small population of extremists, to follow our lead.
Now, if we would only stop selling guns to the Palestinians…
Self-Imposed Democracy
When did we attack Liberia? They’re having a
democratic-styled election there and we haven’t even forced them into it. That’s now how it’s supposed to go...
First
, thousands of people are supposed to die through starvation, brutality, and mismanagement. Next,
a series of political coups occur that causes immense collateral damage among the populace. Last, The US of A, in a blizzard of
Deus ex machina and righteous fury, depose the tyrant and save the day.
Run the credits…
That’s not
what’s happening in Liberia. They don’t play by those rules. True, they did receive America’s backing for independence, but it was way back in the 1800’s – well before our holier-than-thou push for global Americanization-cum-Democracy. They’ve had their problems, most notably the 1989 attempted coup led by Charles Taylor (I knew a guy by that name once) that, after three years, remained unsuccessful due to an international force of West Africans. Charles Taylor became president and acted as the nations legally elected thug, skimming millions off neighboring Sierra Leone illicit diamond trade. Nevertheless, they managed to maintain their own republic for over 150 years without the aid of Captain America, and today they are having another election: All by themselves.
Can they do that?
I Do Believe in Spooks...
I want to believe. You know, when I read press releases from the
US delegation at the UN, I truly want to believe that they are concerned about
Africa. What a relief it would be to know our leaders are addressing human rights issues, using our status in the world to aid the less fortunate and working hard creating a policy of fairness, based on Christian ethics and values, toward a sector of humanity that needs our help. When
Dr. Cindy Courville speaks, I want to believe she has every qualification to make sound decisions on behalf of Mr. Bush’s administration and that our president will act in harmony with her sage advise. I hope that Mr. Bolton can steer the United Nations to form a policy of forgiveness and understanding for past mismanagement of monetary aid in favor of the families that are suffering.
Wouldn’t that be nice? However, reality has a nasty way of intruding on our wishes. John Bolton, our new, highly critical ambassador to the UN, along with such unlikely allies asRussia,China and Algeria, has
blocked testimony of a special advisor to Kofi Annan regarding the human rights abuses in Sudan. He said there are “other steps that the council should take… other than talking." Bold language, but empty: In a movie script, one would expect those words to be followed up with an ingenious solution. Not so, here. John Bolton offers no remedy, just empty words.
One newspaper wonders what he’s playing at. While
violence is escalating, the US is bandying words about, blocking the voices of dissent.
I want to believe, I really do. Wouldn’t life be more comfortable at the gas pump if we were all comfy with the notion that the good old US of A has the best interests of mankind at heart, just like the press releases say? I want to believe, I do, I do, I do…
Planet for Sale: Cheap!
GALACTIC SENTINAL NEWSLETTER - WANT AD:
Planet for Sale: CHEAP!
Green, wet planet up for sale: One slightly used, still pretty, planet, profuse with life, available for immediate ownership. It could be garden paradise with a little TLC. Available resources for renovation from several neighboring planets provide exceptional value. Proximity to nearest star a plus for solar energy buffs! Package includes one moon, diverse landscapes and views, a unique geography of scattered continents with plenty of room to grow. Call now: this deal won’t last! 84-29837-00201
INTERPLANETARY REAL ESTATE BUREAU - NOTICE:
In response to a recent advertisement for the sale of a “garden paradise” planet, the IREB posts a general BUYER BEWARE notice upon the sale. The planet in question suffers an infestation of a semi-intelligent, viral life form. We believe this virus is dangerous. Any contact may have deleterious effects. The Bureau has suspended the sale contingent upon an investigation by IHO.
SPIRAL ARM NEWS AGENCY EVENING NEWS ITEM:
A survey team of Intergalactic Health Organization scientists has crash-landed on a highly contested planet inside the newly opened Outer Spiral. The so-called “Garden Planet” is under investigation of contamination. The IHO team’s last broadcast came from the planet surface, tight-beamed from their dying ship, included coordinates in a local desert on the Northern hemisphere of the planet. A rescue effort is already underway…
INTERPLANETARY HEALTH ORGANIZATION – MEMO:
“Garden paradise” planet preliminary results:
At the request of IREB, IHO began an investigation of an alleged “garden paradise” planet for sale by developers inside the newly opened Southern Outer Spiral Region. Said planet, believed to be infested with a hitherto unknown form of bipedal, mammalian viral life form that seems to have infiltrated most of the available areas of the planet. This virus shows highly aggressive behavior and is capable of reproducing at an alarming rate.
Theories abound within the IHO regarding this unusual disease, ranging from a new form of intelligent life to a uniquely adaptable planetary blight, and further study is necessary.
IHO recommends quarantine of the solar system surrounding the planet, a scan of the other planetary bodies within the solar perimeter, and a detailed study of the planet itself so we can understand the possible vectors and devise immunizations against the virus before further contact. Although preliminary reports suggest the virus to be constrained to this one planet, we call for a scan of all holdings of the developers’ assets for signs of contamination: we cannot ignore the possible dangers of allowing a spread of this unknown disease into the galaxy without knowing a cure.
SPIRAL ARM NEWS AGENCY EVENING NEWS ITEM:
A coalition of real estate developers entered a lawsuit against the IREB alleging unlawful restrictions of a small area of the Southern Outer Spiral. The legal battle centers on concerns of the safety of the region. Recently, and IHO probe team disappeared in a planet surface in the region, and the subsequent rescue team has not broadcast for the past two cycles. IHO spokespersons have not been available for comment, but the coalition of developers has been loudly proclaiming foul play. The IREB issued a statement yesterday stating the need for caution in the contested area due to a hitherto unknown blight, which the IHO teams are investigation. The developers claim such health concerns a fabrication, although no reasons are given to back that claim…
IREB – PUBLIC NOTICE:
The Interplanetary Real Estate Bureau, acting on concerns expressed by the Health Organization, hereby forbids the sale of any planets, moons, or systems, whole or in part, contained within the Southern Outer Spiral Region until further notice. Developers may contest this ruling by contacting IREB. We strongly recommend cessation of fly-by prospecting, and limit data gathering of the sector to robotic craft. This area is under quarantine due to a threat of viral contamination. Violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of applicable laws.
The Washington Post has a nice summation of the unraveling of the Bush Administration. I find it enjoyable to watch as justice is being served - albeit modestly - to perpetrators of deceit. While I understand that American-styled politics is fundamentally flawed, I can only chuckle inside at watching some of the benefactors of the Clinton Impeachment Roadshow get their own.
As they say: "No One Died When Clinton Lied." How much more impeachable is wanton warmongering, obstruction of due process and hoodwinking a nation into a quagmire that is costing the lives of American youths and destroying a whole people overseas. While we busy ourselves with knocking down congressmen, lobbyists and advisors like bowling pins, the kingpin will soon stand alone. That's okay; he's not going anywhere... Yet.
David Brin always make me feel dumb. In a good way. His reads are the most even-handed political comments I have yet uncovered. Today, this snippet caught in the folds of my brain:
There is one more reason for the right wing to support gerrymandering at all costs. The biggest reason - possibly - of all. At present, more than a hundred super-radical GOP congressmen exercise their traditional privilege of appointing one candidate from their district to each of the US Military Academies (e.g. West Point). There is strong anecdotal evidence that these new cadets are being appointed according to social, political and cultural litmus tests, including religious zealotry. This bottom-stocking of the US Officer Corps is symmetric with the ongoing purge of the apolitical and superbly professional flag officer ranks, either forcing retirements, re-assigning, or viciously harrassing any general or admiral who will not toe the line. Of these two trends, the bottom-stocking of zealots has received the least attention, and may do our constitutional civilization the most long-lasting harm.
This acts upon me so powerfully I cannot make a coherent closing statement. The phrase Army of God echoes in my head...
I'm becoming skeptical about every new revelation offered by our government supporting Bush’s War. Today’s dish: a 6300-word letter translated by god-know-whom, obtained by who-know-how, and purported to contain a direct missive between the “Number 2” Al-Qaida so-and-so and He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named, “Number 1” Al-Qaida Dr. Evil-type mastermind whose name we all know by heart.
I can’t care less what this supposed letter supposedly contains. If we can intercept the personal correspondence of Osama Bin-Laden, why can’t we just knock on his door and fetch the bastard? I’m sure Al-Qaida members are all dancing around an effigy and singing, “Who’s afraid of the Big, Bad Bush,” then collapsing in laughter.
This “new” letter amounts to another smokescreen devised by the real Dr. Evil-types in Washington to bring their one-note-song back to the forefront of media playlists across the nation (News of corruption, insider trading, and poor governance can’t be tolerated.) You know the song; the one about freedom, justice, and forcing the American Way™ upon the unwilling at gunpoint. This song has a nostalgic flavor, an historical timbre, sort of like the government radio band of the Third Reich; every house is supposed to play it. To do otherwise is un-American!
I’m fed up with media manipulation by the Bush administration. This boy has cried wolf too long, I’m not listening anymore. What this brat needs to do, is to bring home a nice pelt so we can all dance around it. Nothing else will do.
To whom It May Interest:
Because my friend Leucanthemum suggested it, I have been working on a
vacation scrapbook commemorating our trip last summer to Israel. In true Tannish fashion, it takes an electronic form. While my wife was busy buying photo albums and extra inserts, printing out some of the 1100 digital images we brought home, and arranging them
just so, I was busy doing the same thing online.
I have the smug satisfaction of being able to say my version cost much less...
So if you're curious, an internet voyeur, or just a glutton for punishment - click on through!
Wardriving
I’m sitting in my company pickup in a parking lot of a municipal building in semi-rural Wisconsin awaiting arrival of the guy who would issue a building permit for an upcoming job in the area. His (or her) office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00 – 2:30PM; I’m early. Like me, this person must spend a lot of time on the road to perform his job function as Building Inspector.
No worries – I just play with my new laptop, fire up this
nifty freeware and…Hey! They’ve got an unsecured WiFi setup here! I wonder if I can tap into it. Cool! I feel so illicit. And my boss thinks Wireless internet doesn’t work…
I just had to share that. Apologies to the geeks already in the know. Not that those kind of people read my bloggings anyway…
Poli-Sci Suicide Shuffle
Here’s another (as if we need one) indicator of the failing administration of our Drunkard–in-Chief. The Nobel Committee awarded its
Peace Prize awarded to the International Atomic Energy Agency and its chief, Mohamed ElBaradei. Yes, this it the same man president Bush tried to remove from office for daring to criticize our
delicate handling of Iraq. Those damned Europeans, so ungrateful that we helped them in World War II…
………
But when the US senate overwhelmingly passed a motion aimed at closing a loophole allowing torture of US detainees, George W-is-for-“Whip ‘em” Bush wants to veto. This guy is really into his executive powers.
………
We must be doing all right. The Labor Department reports that the economy lost only 35,000 jobs last month – better than expected. I can only scratch my head and wonder how this can be good news for people.
Economic punditry celebrates this news. Isn’t this like saying “I lost my two toes, but I’m glad it wasn’t my whole foot.”
………
The rats continue to leave the sinking ship USS BushCo. Evangelical voters, Republican men, Southerners and Protestants have lost support for the president since the beginning of this year. The president's overall job approval is at 39 percent - with 21 percent strongly approving. Only 28 percent say the country is headed in the right direction, while two-thirds, 66 percent, say it is on the wrong track.
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I'm suffering from despair reading the endless mudslinging from the democratic Party. Enough! "Just gimme some truth!" Or substance, I'll settle for that...
But one young senator has my best interest at heart, and he writes nice letters, too (or his staff does). Below is a reply from an
internet-activist-petition thingy I sometimes agree with. This time its about the shafting our moron-in-chief gave the survivors of the hurricanes las month.
Dear T(annish):
Thank you for writing me regarding the President’s suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act. I agree with you that the last thing that workers affected by Hurricane Katrina need is to have one of their most basic labor protections suspended.
On September 8th, President Bush proclaimed that all federal contracts to be performed in the hurricane-affected areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi would be exempt from Davis-Bacon Act requirements. The Davis-Bacon Act ensures that workers earn prevailing local wages on federally-funded construction contracts. The President’s move suspends this requirement, and permits contractors to pay less than the locally prevailing wage on contracts entered into after September 8th.
I think the President was wrong to suspend the Davis-Bacon Act, which is why I co-sponsored with Senator Kennedy the Fair Wages for Katrina Recovery Workers Act. If passed, this bill would reverse the President’s suspension and ensure that the workers involved in the recover and reconstruction effort will earn a prevailing wage. I am hopeful that my Republican colleagues will see the need to protect workers affected by Hurricane Katrina, and work to pass this bill.
An estimated 400,000 to 1 million workers may become unemployed as a result of Hurricane Katrina. These hard-working Americans will need good jobs quickly. Workers in Mississippi and Louisiana were among the poorest in America even before the hurricane; the states rank 1st and 2nd among the poorest states in the nation. The President’s move to depress their wages even further is confounding, and extremely unfortunate.
President Bush would have Americans believe that Davis-Bacon wages are exorbitant, and that contractors would not be able to afford to do their jobs and pay their employees’ wages. Nothing could be further from the truth. For instance, sheet metal workers in Pearl River County, Mississippi earned $9.16 an hour before the Hurricane, and truck drivers in Mobile, Alabama made $8.54 for an hour’s work. I am sure you will agree with me that by any reasonable estimates, these wages are not prohibitively high.
T(annish), thank you for writing. As this fight for fair wages for America’s workers continues in the coming days, I will be certain to keep your communication in mind.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
United States Senator
This guy rocks! I stand here being represented by Barack Obama and Jan Schakowsky, how lucky can one Get?
(That was rhetorical)
Weekly Offering
More Words of Wisdom From
Lama Suryas Das:
Who is wise?
He that learns from everyone.
Who is powerful?
He that governs his passions.
Who is rich?He that is content.
Who is that?
Nobody.
~ Benjamin Franklin
It seem that some things don’t change. I’m reminded of the vast technological changes that have occurred since Ben Franklin’s time to ours. Perhaps its safe to say that the world we share would be seen as dangerous and confusing to him and his ilk, perhaps viewed with distaste. I stretch my imagination to question how our world would be different if we had advanced just as far in social or political arenas as well. These are, after all, the areas that our founding fathers were trying to address with their “Great Experiment.”
I wonder what he'd say about our progress...
Slowly and somewhat begrudgingly, the West is finding more need to “think outside” of its own “box.” Economists have been touting gross domestic product as a yardstick of national happiness for decades, as if money alone could be a measure of personal satisfaction. But the kingdom of Bhutan is pursuing happiness a different way.
"We have to think of human well-being in broader terms. Material well-being is only one component. That doesn't ensure that you're at peace with your environment and in harmony with each other."
So says Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley, Bhutan's home minister and ex-prime minister. This idea, which economic thinkers in the west are just now attending to, is based on Buddhist doctrine. Some relate this to the more Jeffersonian philosophy of happiness:
"The Enlightenment theory of happiness was an expression of public good or the public welfare, of the contentment of the people," said John Ralston Saul, a Canadian political philosopher. And, he added, this could not be further from "the 20th-century idea that you should smile because you're at Disneyland."
I find this to be self evident: happiness is subjective, after all. The chase for money, status and other ephemeral accoutrements of society can often take on a like of its own, undermining whatever basis for happiness we’ve accrued. To live in an era where messages of consumerism feed our subconscious false fears and desires, we have to work diligently to remain centered on our own values, not to get caught up in the false values of corporate entities. To live in a society which deifies wealth, we must remember that most of our material possessions are unnecessary to our emotional needs.
And now, some few Western researchers are, in a very Western style, trying to quantify this self evident truth.
But researchers have been hard pressed to develop measuring techniques that can capture this broader concept of well-being. One approach is to study how individuals perceive the daily flow of their lives, having them keep diary-like charts reflecting how various activities, from paying bills to playing softball, make them feel. A research team at Princeton is working with the Bureau of Labor Statistics to incorporate this kind of charting into its new "time use" survey, which began last year and is given to 4,000 Americans each month.
"The idea is to start with life as we experience it and then try to understand what helps people feel fulfilled and create conditions that generate that," said Dr. Alan B. Krueger, a Princeton economist working on the survey.
For the rest of us, not involved with spending grant money, all we have to do is look into ourselves to discover happiness. If only we take the time.
Why The Palestinians Do Not Deserve A Nation
What passes for a Palestinian identity is
violence. Violence is the only way they know. From 1948, when the British Mandate gave the area once known as Palestine to the displaced European Jewry, the Arab peoples have been at perpetual war with the Jews. During the Israeli War of Independence, the backers of and Arab state of Palestine, all six of the neighboring nations, could not prevail against an under-equipped partisan militia of farmers, refugees and teens.
With each successive attempt, the Arabs fighting for Palestinian statehood have been weakened by an ever strengthening Israeli Military. Today, nearly 60 years later, what is left of Palestine is a few thousand people, mostly youths, whom refuse to accept that they are themselves refugees. Generation after generation of Arabs clinging to an impossible dream of self rule have flung themselves mindlessly at an unassailable wall, taught their children to value hatred and exemplify martyrs and bred into their cultural identity values based upon uncompromising hatred and militant extremism.
For decades, the Palestinian Authority has been accepting foreign money to build an economic foundation for their dream. Instead they hoard the money through corruption; How did Yasser Arafat become a millionaire? Money for healthcare and education given in faith to enrich lives of so-called Palestinians founded the militant organization known as Hamas, which is currently vying for control of a Palestinian police state inside the Gaza strip. From the
Institute of Counter-Terrorism:
Hamas enjoys strong financial backing. In fact, its rivals claim that this is major reason for its strength. Hamas receives financial support from unofficial bodies in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, and recently also from Iran. These funds are distributed among the various groups and associations identified with the movement, and from them filter down to the operatives in the field. A broad network of charity associations (Jamayath Hiriya) and committees (Lejan Zekath) operates in the Territories, on the basis of two Jordanian statutes: the Charity Association and Social Institutions Law, and the Charity Fund-Raising Regulations. Hamas makes extensive use of many of these charity associations and committees, which (together with the mosques, unions, etc.) also serve as the overt facade of the organization's activity, operating parallel to and serving its covert operations. The movement's ideology attributes great importance to the giving of charity (zekath, which is also one of the five basic principles of Islam). Giving charity can serve to bring the people closer to Islam and, as a result, to broaden the ranks of Hamas.
The network of charity associations serves as a screen for its covert activities, including liaison with the movement's leadership abroad, the transfer of funds to field operatives, and the identification of potential recruits. The great importance which Hamas attaches to the overt aspect of its operations - charity and welfare - has been particularly evident since the extensive arrest and exclusion of many of its operatives.
An important aspect of the charity associations and committees is their role as a means for the channeling of funds into the region. While part of these funds is in fact used for charity, it is not always possible to distinguish between the 'innocent' activity of the charity associations and the funding of covert, subversive and terrorist activity. Thus, for example, the associations pay fines and assist the families of operatives who are arrested, or the operatives themselves. Such donations are defined as charity, but are in fact given to the hard and active core of Hamas. The charity associations can also help in transfering funds to Hamas through their financial-administrative infrastructure. Hamas enjoys strong financial backing. In fact, its rivals claim that this is major reason for its strength. Hamas receives financial support from unofficial bodies in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, and recently also from Iran. These funds are distributed among the various groups and associations identified with the movement, and from them filter down to the operatives in the field.
A broad network of charity associations (Jamayath Hiriya) and committees (Lejan Zekath) operates in the Territories, on the basis of two Jordanian statutes: the Charity Association and Social Institutions Law, and the Charity Fund-Raising Regulations. Hamas makes extensive use of many of these charity associations and committees, which (together with the mosques, unions, etc.) also serve as the overt facade of the organization's activity, operating parallel to and serving its covert operations. The movement's ideology attributes great importance to the giving of charity (zekath, which is also one of the five basic principles of Islam). Giving charity can serve to bring the people closer to Islam and, as a result, to broaden the ranks of Hamas.
The network of charity associations serves as a screen for its covert activities, including liaison with the movement's leadership abroad, the transfer of funds to field operatives, and the identification of potential recruits. The great importance which Hamas attaches to the overt aspect of its operations - charity and welfare - has been particularly evident since the extensive arrest and exclusion of many of its operatives.
An important aspect of the charity associations and committees is their role as a means for the channeling of funds into the region. While part of these funds is in fact used for charity, it is not always possible to distinguish between the 'innocent' activity of the charity associations and the funding of covert, subversive and terrorist activity. Thus, for example, the associations pay fines and assist the families of operatives who are arrested, or the operatives themselves. Such donations are defined as charity, but are in fact given to the hard and active core of Hamas. The charity associations can also help in transfering funds to Hamas through their financial-administrative infrastructure.
Today, Hamas clashed with Palestinian police in Gaza. Now that the Jew have gone, they have no one but themselves to pick on.
From WaPo:
A police officer and two civilian bystanders were killed in the hours-long gun battles, and at least 50 others were wounded in the most sustained factional fighting since Israel withdrew from Gaza three weeks ago.
Palestinian authorities and Hamas officials gave conflicting accounts of how the clashes began. Hamas officials said gunfire broke out after Palestinian police sought to disarm a group of Hamas fighters riding in a taxi in Gaza City…
Palestinian officials said the violence began with a dispute at an automated teller machine involving a Hamas member. When Palestinian police arrived to settle the matter, Hamas gunmen tossed grenades at the men, authorities said. Witnesses said Hamas gunmen later used RPG-7 grenade launchers to attack two police stations.
So-called Palestinian so-called Freedom Fighters throw grenades at policemen called to the scene of a disturbance. The group is upset at an attempt to disarm the rabble for the safety of others in the crowded city. A protracted gun fight breaks out. All of this happens in an area that is supposed to be a testing ground for a future Palestinian state. They have proved, and will do so again, that they aren’t ready for self rule, they aren’t mature enough as a people to be awarded statehood.
All of this illustrates why an Arab “state” inside the boundaries of Israel is a foolish dream. How many wars does it take for a people to realize that they have been well and truly conquered? Only in the modern world of global media could the meme of “Palestine” continue to circle the globe ad infinitum. Palestine is dead, and the miscreants and over equipped gangs that is remaining of a once proud nation should be given their cultural due, equal education and economic opportunities as free Arab subject of Israel, and forget the whole Palestine thing as the memory it is. The Israelis have known this for decades; only the Western media is unaware, mostly because they really don’t care (besides, a peaceful resolution would harm newspaper sales.)
Proud Parent Moment
My daughter is becoming quite the bloggster. For the past few months, she and I have been discovering the Joy of Blogging ™ together. As I struggle with the usual middle-class issues and wrestle out of my day a few cogent moments in which to attempt to write, she struggles with a daunting workload of homework, activities and still manages to write creatively.
She started last spring with
Brianna’s World, then after several revisions, branched out to a general interest blog entitled
Shades of Pink. Two web site cannot contain her ideas, it weems, so she expanded further for her
Library. Not content with that, she has envisioned a creative writing blog called
Lucid Waking, and her best friend coerced her into sharing a
Xanga site:
Urban Legend, just for kicks.
While all this seems a bit scattered it's understandably a by-product of a child's method of investigation. All of these consist of a larger work-in-progress, which will enable her to find her unique voice. While she rapidly leaves her childhood behind, her work will develop into a coherency I can only dream of.
It’s daunting to imagine what these highschoolers can do when you let them. Coming as I have from the Children-Are-Seen-And-Not-Heard school of childrearing, I am constantly amazed by my daughter’s generation. And I am proud that the fates have chosen me to be her papa.
Listing (As In A Ship Sinking)
I'm being lazy this morning. As I scounge for inspiration among the progressive blog-o-cube, I find (once again) that others have spoken much better than I. In light of this, I present to you a list gleaned from my readings, stripped of context, arranged to create a kind of tone-poem of political discontent.
Nods to
After Dowing Street.
Rising heating bills and gas prices.
Shrinking health care coverage.
Sinking approval ratings.
Denial.
China owning America’s debts.
Permanent bases in Iraq.
Camp Casey.
Quagmire.
Storm damage and wildfires.
Political contribution indictments.
Hiding the dead.
Cronyism.
Jobs fleeing overseas.
Pensions evaporating.
Alcoholism.
Lies.
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