Oregon Magazine - the End of an Era....

Win McCormack is a great man.




 

I don't say that because I knew him while he lived in Oregon - I say that because it happens to be true.

So, imagine my surprise a couple of weeks ago when I saw, to my horror, an online-'zine calling itself "Oregon Magazine", and spouting right-wing Fundie drivel by Matt Barber.

Back to Win McCormack.

Back in the '70's, Win McCormack had put down roots here in Oregon, having been educated at Andover and Harvard, and getting an advanced degree from that harbinger of Communism, the University of Oregon.

He decided that what Oregon really needed back then was a good state magazine -- a novel idea, since no one had ever published one before. He was, in short order, the conscience of a state - bringing everything from poorly-maintained highways to a 'good-writer-but-who-is-he-anyway' young Portland attorney named Philip Margolin to the forefront of a rapidly-growing readership.

Part grandfatherly-figure and part curmudgeon, this then-23-year-old computer sales representative took to him immediately -- I helped him automate an upstairs office on Yamhill Street in downtown Portland which reeked of dust and photo-developer; he regaled me with stories of growing up back East and what it was like to produce a magazine every month and make payroll.

He was the first to break the news about the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (who changed his name to 'Osho' shortly before his death) and his plans to create the world's largest open-air insane-asylum (read 'Eastern religious compound') in the small town of Antelope, Oregon.

No one believed him - but before anyone could say 'Ma Anand Sheela!', the Bhagwan had taken over the town, bought a large ranch with his considerable donations, and had the permits in hand to build his City on the Prairie.

Win never backed down from a controversial story - but all good things eventually do come to an end - wanting and needing a bigger canvas for his efforts, he decamped for more-familiar territory back east.

He now publishes books through Tin Hat, his own publishing company, and has recently written two political commentaries of his own ("You Don't Know Me - A Citizen's Guide To Republican Family Values"; "The End of Democracy").

Now, imagine my shock at finding that Oregon Magazine had been co-opted in its entirety by two right-wing jerkoffs named Larry Leonard and Fred Delkin. I couldn't believe that the thoughtful prose of Win McCormack had been drivelized by picking up op-ed pieces from the likes of Barber - gone were the new authors from Oregon's thriving creative community; in their place are cheap promotional pieces for Liberty Counsel, and apologetics for the recent depredations of Israel against Gaza.

I wrote the following email to Mr. Leonard:

"I remember a time when Oregon Magazine was about Oregon – it didn’t
publish the drivel I just read from Matt Barber, or apologetics for
Zionist war crimes.

What happened to you????"

I received the following response:

"The period to which you refer, in calendar terms, would be during the era of Win McCormack, who sold the magazine to two guys down in Roseburg, then left the state. (I was a contributing editor to both of those incarnations.) The guys in Roseburg couldn't make a go of it and let the name drop. McCormack currently produces Mother Jones Magazine on the East Coast. You should prefer that one.

The publisher of a magazine shapes his publication in one of two ways*:*

(1) To meet a market need regardless of whether or not he believes the product is providing the truth, and (2) to present the truth, regardless of the preferences of the potential audience.

I chose the latter approach because I don't care if I make a living from the magazine if I have to lie to do it.

Good luck to you,
LL/OrMag

All's I can say is that Mr. Leonard has a curious relationship with the 'truth'.

I don't wish him well, good luck, or anything else. He's part of the problem with America nowadays - part of the extremist element who will do damn near anything to get their point across, even if they have to make others suffer for it.


I wish Win McCormack would come back to Oregon.

I mourn the passing of good writing.

I mourn the passing of common sense.

A Short Conversation Over Breakfast....

(Chichen Itza, both a city and a religious complex, was built by the Mayan civilization in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico around 700C.E. It is considered one of the New 7 Wonders, and is a U.N. World Heritage Site)

"Nescire autem quid antequam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum."
(Not to know what happened before you were born is to be forever a child.)
-- Marcus Tullius Cicero; Roman senator and historian.

This morning, I went to breakfast, as I often do of a Sunday morning. I do a lot of my 'getting' done on a Sunday morning (I find it easier, as most folks aren't up and about at that time, and those who are usually are headed to church).Now, I hear a lot of things from my perch at my fave breakfast spot -- but today was a genuinely sad experience.

Two couples were in the booth next to me; they were talking about their upcoming vacation.

"....the fuck cares; it's Mexico."

"But, I mean, it's like a foreign country. They've got their own immigration. Remember the last time we were there? That guy made us open our bags and everything." The woman was looking at her husband across the table.

"Yeah, but they let us go. Ya gotta figure they'll be like that."

The female of the other couple interjected. "Why don't we just go to the Dilly Deluxe? They give you all the snacks and beer you want in the room. It's all-inclusive for meals and everything. Just don't take any side trips. Remember that last one, hon.?"

"Yeah. Loaded us all in a bus and drove us just about fuckin' forever. Took us to this place in the middle of the jungle. Was a pyramid there -- didn't know the Mexies could make those; thought the 'Gyptians were th' only ones 't make 'em - there was part of a wall, an' some other stuff. What was the name of that place?"

His 'woman' interjected, "Chicken Pizza. That's not its name, but that's how I rememerd it. 'Chicken Pizza'."

"Couple thousand years old, anyway. Big waste o' time," said the man.The other woman said, "But you don't have to do that stuff. Jus' come with us; we know the best places to go up in one of those parachute-thingies, an' stuf'."

"Parasailing", I muttered.

"What?", said one of the men.

"Parasailing. It's called 'parasailing'. And you want to be careful; there's no such thing as a safety inspection for those operations."

"Huh." Turning back to his woman, he said, "Anyhow, I wanna go fishin'."

"You can do that, too. The Dilly Deluxe has a package."

"Is Mexico really a foreign country?", said the other woman.

"Yeah, they've got their own money and everything. Not worth much, though," said the corresponding-male.

"Is that why they keep coming up here? Isn't there something we can do about it?"

"Yeah," said the man. "Shoot 'em".(Laughter all around).

It hit me just then - these are the people who facilitated eight years of Neocon rule. These are the people who are making most of the decisions in America.

They don't understand that they're overfed and undereducated. They don't understand that their jobs are all going away. They don't understand that the rest of the world - and those of us in America who Get It - consider them morons.

These are the parents of the high-school bullies who call everything 'gay' which they don't understand. They're the people who sat next to you in class, either sleeping or cutting-up, and 'downing' everything which remotely resembled genuine civilization.

They breed in higher numbers than the rest of us.

Their kids are the bullies who consider education 'uncool', and who are bullying your kids, in turn.

I was finishing my coffee. I remembered a similar pair to the first two; they were sitting behind me coming back from my last trip to Hawai'i:

"Mom? Is Hawai'i part of the United States?"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask your Dad. He knows such things."

When I was in Pompeii some years ago, I happened on a gaggle of folks from Indiana or Ohio or someplace in the U.S. interior while a poorly-paid and even more poorly-educated tour-guide had droned on about Pompeii, and how the city had been there for 2,000 years prior to the eruption (it hadn't); he then began 'explaining' the process of casting human remains from the volcanic eruption. There was the cast of a pregnant woman, lying face-down with her hand outstretched. I said, "She should be cremated."

One of the Ohioans looked at me while the tour-guide droned on. "Huh?"

"The Romans believed it would release their spirit to Elysium," I said.

"You don' believe that, do ya?", he said.

"Point of fact, I don't," I replied. "But she did." I walked off, considering what reasons an archaeological site would have for displaying the dead in that fashion, and what sort of person would stand and listen to some of the tripe being delivered by their 'guide'....

________________________________

"Hey, buddy!", said the first man across from me.

"Yes?"

"You travel?"

"Yes."

"Whaddya think about Mexico?", he half-growled.

"I like it. People there accept everyone. They love their country and their history, and they know about both."

He looked at me as if I'd said, "Zombies run Belgium, you know."

"Well, would you go back?"

I thought for a moment about the Mexico I knew - which had nothing to do with U.S.-run resorts, stupid tourists, and chicken-pizza."

Yes. I would." I got up to leave. The quote above came to mind.

I live in a country full of children. Children who have the right to vote, breed, and authorize the use of nuclear weapons.

Suddenly, I feel very, very alone.

Oregon Magazine; How I Miss Ye (Why Your New Incarnation Is A Pale Shadow Of The Past)

(Baal - Levantine Deity)

In perusing Oregon Magazine (a locally-produced 'zine which usually features things from local writers), I came across this piece from a fellow named Matt Barber.

I really couldn't believe what I was reading.

Barber wastes no time performing some serious historical gymnastics - including jumping-to-conclusions - about the origins of modern day Progressive Liberalism.
(It ought to be noted that the notions of Western democracy on which both Progressive Liberalism and Neoconservatism alike are based didn't occur until well-after the worship of Baal, or any other Bronze Age Near-Eastern 'god' had long since disappeared).

I don't suppose it's going to do any good to tell Mr. Barber that small fact, either - any more than it's going to do any good to tell Mr. Obama that Rick Warren is a homophobic moron who's used his church to promote a political agenda in violation of Federal law.

Y'see, Barber is a graduate of the late and (un)lamented Jerry Falwell's Liberty University Law School, and a founding member of Liberty Counsel, which uses Neoconservative, Fundamentalist Christian attorneys to do things like sue school-districts over reading Harry Potter books in class.

If you go to Liberty Counsel's website, you'll see such things as "URGENT! Sign the petition against the Freedom of Choice Act!" (The Freedom of Choice Act is intended, by the way, to solidify the gains in women's rights won under Roe v. Wade - helping prevent things like backalley abortions and all that follows).

So, imagine my surprise when I read the article, below, in one of my favorite local magazines.

This is dangerous for a couple of reasons. First, it's a clear statement that Neoconservatism and the actions of the Fundies are not dead - -in fact, they're becoming more active than ever, and they're squirming at the chance to 'get back' at all those who booted 'em out of power.

Secondly, they're using their well-heeled muscle to launch a full-on attack on the Constitution - under the guise of 'defending religious liberty' (Mr. Warren's attack on gays and this Barber-fellow's attack on - well, nearly everything -- should not go unnoticed).

(That Constitutional question is a short conversation, by the way. There's this nagging piece of verbiage in the First Amendment - you know the one: "Congress shall make no law.....")
Please understand. By posting the article below, I'm not promoting this guy's viewpoint. In fact, I had to cringe, laugh, and force myself to read the nonsense this fellow spouts as fact.
(Note: The Bible is a piece of literature. It's not fact. Barber proceeds as if it is - and the conclusions he reaches are ludicrous. I'm posting the following article by Barber in that light. Please do not try this at home -- legitimate historians will laugh at you!):

___________________________________

The gods of liberalism
By J. Matt Barber

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV)

Modern-day liberals – or "progressives" as they more discreetly prefer – labor under an awkward misconception; namely, that there is anything remotely "progressive" about the fundamental canons of their blind, secular-humanist faith. In fact, today's liberalism is largely a sanitized retread of an antiquated mythology – one that significantly predates the only truly progressive movement: biblical Christianity.

While visiting the Rivermont Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg, Va., a few weeks back, I heard a troubling, albeit thought-provoking, sermon. Pastor John Mabray addressed the ancient Canaanite practice of Baal worship and, though he didn't reveal it by name, connected the dots to its present-day progeny: liberalism. Baal, the half-bull, half-man god of fertility, was the focal point of pagan idolatry in Semitic Israel until God revealed His monotheistic nature to Judaism's forebears.

In his sermon, Pastor Mabray illustrated that, although they've now assumed a more contemporary flair, the fundamentals of Baal worship remain alive and well today. The principal pillars of Baalism were child sacrifice, sexual immorality (both heterosexual and homosexual) and pantheism (reverence of creation over the Creator).
Ritualistic Baal worship, in sum, looked a little like this: Adults would gather around the altar of Baal. Infants would then be burned alive as a sacrificial offering to the deity. Amid horrific screams and the stench of charred human flesh, congregants – men and women alike – would engage in bisexual orgies. The ritual of convenience was intended to produce economic prosperity by prompting Baal to bring rain for the fertility of "mother earth."
The natural consequences of such behavior – pregnancy and childbirth – and the associated financial burdens of "unplanned parenthood" were easily offset. One could either choose to engage in homosexual conduct or – with child sacrifice available on demand – could simply take part in another fertility ceremony to "terminate" the unwanted child.

Modern liberalism deviates little from its ancient predecessor. While its macabre rituals have been sanitized with flowery and euphemistic terms of art, its core tenets and practices remain eerily similar. The worship of "fertility" has been replaced with worship of "reproductive freedom" or "choice." Child sacrifice via burnt offering has been updated, ever so slightly, to become child sacrifice by way of abortion. The ritualistic promotion, practice and celebration of both heterosexual and homosexual immorality and promiscuity have been carefully whitewashed – yet wholeheartedly embraced – by the cults of radical feminism, militant "gay rights" and "comprehensive sex education." And, the pantheistic worship of "mother earth" has been substituted – in name only – for radical environmentalism.

But it's not just self-styled "progressives" or secular humanists who have adopted the fundamental pillars of Baalism. In these postmodern times, we've also been graced, regrettably, by the advent of counter-biblical "emergent Christianity" or "quasi-Christianity," as I prefer to call it.

This is merely liberalism all dolled up and gratuitously stamped "Christian." It's a way for left-wing ideologues to have their "religion" cake and eat it too. Under the guise of "social justice," its adherents often support – or at least rationalize – the same pro-homosexual, pro-abortion and radical environmental policies pushed by the modern-day Baal worshiper.

Though the "Christian left" represent what is arguably a negligible minority within larger Christianity, the liberal media have, nonetheless, embraced their cause and seized upon their popularity among elites as evidence that the so-called "Christian right" (read: biblical Christianity) is losing influence – that Christianity is, somehow, "catching up with the times."

Because emergent Christianity fails the authenticity test whenever subjected to even the most perfunctory biblical scrutiny, I suspect it will eventually go – for the most part – the way of the pet rock or the Macarena. But this does not absolve leaders within the evangelical community from a duty to call leaders of this counter-biblical revolution on their heresy. It's not a matter of right versus left; it's a matter of right versus wrong – of biblical versus non-biblical.

Nonetheless, the aforementioned pillars of postmodern Baalism – abortion, sexual relativism and radical environmentalism – will almost certainly make rapid headway over the next four to eight years, with or without help from the Christian left. The gods of liberalism have a new high priest in Barack Obama, and enjoy many devout followers in the Democratic-controlled Congress, liberal media and halls of academia.

Both Obama's social agenda and that of the 111th Congress are rife with unfettered pro-abortion, freedom-chilling, pro-homosexual and power-grabbing environmentalist objectives. The same kind of "hope, action and change," I suppose, that was swallowed up by the Baalist Canaanites of old.

So, today's liberalism is really just a very old book with a shiny new cover. A philosophy rooted in ancient pagan traditions, of which there is naught to be proud.
There's "nothing new under the sun," indeed.

Matt Barber is a Fundamentalist attorney concentrating on a Dominionist interpretation of constitutional law. He serves as Director of Cultural Affairs with both Liberty Counsel and Liberty Alliance Action.
© 2009 Matt Barber

Rick Warren, Barack Obama, and the Great J.C. Power and Light Company....

In keeping with yesterday's blog, I'm told that the First Order of Business for any politician is to get elected.

Presumably, after they've Sold Out to nearly every special-interest, they will then turn around and uphold every principle they denied in order to gain those votes.

This is the morass in which Obama finds himself today.

He has a Zionist as a Chief of Staff; a former CIA director as his Secretary of Defense; the former head of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York as Treasury Secretary -- and to top it all off, none other than H.R. Clinton; Secretary of State.


I'm confused.

At least one of these (Clinton) looks like payoff to me; a means of putting the fox in charge of the henhouse in at least two other selections, and a means of appeasing the Israeli government in an outrageous and egregious manner in his selection of Chief of Staff.

Then there's Rick Warren.

In case you've been living under a rock, Rick Warren is the overfed, overpaid head of the Saddleback Church in California. He was one of the ringleaders of the opposition to Proposition 8, which would have guaranteed same-sex couples living in California the right to, say, make medical decisions for each other, get insurance, have their union recognized by law -- that sort of thing.

Prop 8 was defeated. Churches all over California rejoiced that mob rule, and not Constitutional law, prevailed -- those nasty gays and lesbians would have to either high-tail it up Interstate 5 to Oregon, where they're more welcome - or have to eat the shit-sandwich made up for them by Mr. Warren and his supporters - the Great J.C. Power and Light company just made the world a little darker for some of America's citizens.

But hey - it's been done before. Find a group you don't like, and pick on 'em. The Nazis did it with the Gypsies, Jews - and the gays. Yellow Stars of David weren't the only symbols people had to wear back then, you know -- the Nazis, in their efficiency, forced gays to wear pink-triangles.

"First, they came for the Jews", said Pastor Niemuller in his famous statement at Nuremberg.

I don't know about you, but I've got a serious problem (so, by the way, do both the U.S. and California state Constitutions) with allowing tax-exempt status to an institution which preaches not a brand of religion, but politics, from its pulpits.

Adding insult to injury, Mr. Obama went ahead with his promise to have Mr. Warren offer a 'prayer' at Obama's inauguration.

What Warren offered up wasn't so much a prayer, as it was a speech. You can decide for yourself - the transcript is here:

Almighty God, our Father, everything we see, and everything we can't see, exists because of you alone.

It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory.

History is your story.

The Scripture tells us, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one." And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now today, we rejoice not only in America's peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge point of history with the inauguration of our first African-American president of the United States.

We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.

Give to our new president, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity.

Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the Cabinet and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.

When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us.

When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us.

When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us.

And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches and civility in our attitudes – even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all.

May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy, and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet.

And may we never forget that one day, all nations, and all people, will stand accountable before you.

We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life – Yeshua, Isa, Jesus, [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus – who taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

It's ironic to me that he 'prays' for justice and freedom - when he worked for months to disenfranchise thousands of his fellow Californians from the basic freedoms guaranteed by their Constitution.

We can rest easy on that one, though - the American Civil Liberties Union and Los Angeles County have joined in a Constitutional challenge of Prop. 8 -- with any luck, it will wind up in the dustbin where so many other equally-flawed 'laws' eventually end up.

Personally, I can only hope Rick Warren is soon to follow.

Gaza -- An Aftermath....

(Israeli Tanker In Gaza - Celebrating 'Victory' Over Palestinian Civilians)

"We have reached all our objectives in Gaza" 
-- Ehud Olmert; 17 January, 2009

(Man in Palestinian Hospital w/Phosphorus Burns)

(Israeli Children, Signing Artillery Shells Destined For Lebanon)

Ehud Olmert, after making the statement above, continued by saying that any attack or violation of the cease-fire by the Palestinians "...would be met by a harsh response."

He did not elaborate.

 

The aftermath of the Gaza operation isn't in much doubt. By their own count, the Israelis lost thirteen people, all but two being military personnel. On the other hand, Palestinian dead are over 1,300, including 410 children (that figure will increase over the next several days, as victims in the rubble of residential buildings targeted by Israeli airstrikes and artillery are uncovered and counted); the wounded, by U.N. count, is upward of 5,500.

The groundwork for this event, and the events to come, were laid years ago by Israeli authors writing children's books teaching hate; by the Israeli military, which orchestrated a 'signing party' for Israeli schoolchildren (they got to put notes on artillery shells back in 2006 for 'delivery' to Lebanon), and by the U.S. media, which has done an excellent job in concert with the Israeli propaganda machine to create support for Israeli actions, and to demonize the Palestinians.

(Palestinian Boy, Killed By Israeli Phosphorus Munitions)

Meanwhile, your tax dollars are hard at work - much of the technology used to deliver these munitions was manufactured in the United States, and paid for by American taxpayers. 

In a token response to statements from Human Rights Watch and on-the-scene members of the U.N., Israel has started a 'high level investigation' into claims that they violated international law during the recent Gaza operation.

The outcome will, I'm sure, be eagerly awaited by the media - the only publications to pick this up and print it were AlJazeera magazine and The Jakarta Post (and that, as the last line in their most recent article about the events).

 

That we're not receiving the real news from Gaza should be evident by now to anyone who's followed recent events by reading this blog and following the sources.

(Palestinian Man With Dead Son - Killed By Israeli Bomb)

The president of the U.N. General Assembly, Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, characterized the Gaza offensive as "...a war against a helpless, defenseless and imprisoned people." Also, the head of the U.N. aid agency in Gaza accused Israel of attacking their compound with white-phosphorus.

U.N. Secretary-General Moon said that a U.N. team would be sent to Gaza immediately to assess the humanitarian issues. However, the real reason for the ceasefire wasn't humanitarian, at all. 

(Israeli White-Phosphorus Airburst Over Civilian Area)

In a statement by the Israeli News Agency, a joint agreement between the U.S. and Israel to deepen their intelligence exchange and to halt 'weapons smuggling' to Gaza is what prompted the cease-fire - not international outrage, or a completion of Israeli 'objectives'. The issue, however, is that the tunnels from Gaza to Israeli territory were used to bring in vital supplies, since Gaza now 'enjoys' the benefits of an 18 month old trade blockade.

“Israel’s rightful self-defense against unlawful rocket attacks does not justify a blockade that denies civilians the food, fuel and medicine needed to survive, a policy amounting to collective punishment. Gazans can’t turn on the lights, get tap water, buy enough food, or earn a living without Israel’s consent," said the director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East division, in an interview a year ago.

While the rest of the world stands down and stands by, it's the human cost which really counts here - the dead, as well as those who slowly starve in Palestine.  (Note:  I contacted the Israeli Embassy in Washington about this.  The response was brief: "Israel regrets having to make these tough decisions and run the risk of incurring casualties.")

The international community shows no signs of holding Israel responsible for its self-styled "Operation Cast Lead" - the latest in a long, long line of crimes against humanity.

Mission Accomplished (or, "A Brief Reenactment of Guernica")....

(Today at 7PM EST [U.S.], the Israeli government initiated a unilateral cease-fire in Gaza)







The ironic word here is 'unilateral', because apart from the occasional sugar and fertilizer rocket, the main weapon the Palestinians had were strong words and the occasional rock.

Israeli troops advanced with desultory resistance (termed 'casual' by U.N. observers). The rocket attacks which supposedly provoked this assault have yielded a total of fifteen (yes; you read that right) Israeli casualties since 2001.
With a cease-fire, the Israeli government is counting on its 'friends' (among them, the U.S. government) to sweep this whole thing under the rug and get back to business as usual - foreign-aid to the racist thugs running things in Jerusalem; more arms deals; more of everything to prop up the government which perpetrated all of this.

While the true toll will likely never be fully known, Human Rights Watch and the U.N. have both confirmed over 1,100 dead Palestinians, the overwhelming majority of them being civilians, like this fellow, the unlucky victim of one of Israel's white-phosphorus shells:


The 18 month Israeli blockade of Gaza has resulted in an ongoing humanitarian crisis. Yesterday, a Greek-flagged ship carrying humanitarian aid was intercepted and its crew threatened with the ship's sinking by Israeli gunboats.

Feeding kids just isn't what it used to be.

Meanwhile, Israeli schoolchildren are encouraged to write notes on artillery shells headed for the front - the examples here are antipersonnel/high-explosive (this; from the Israeli invasion of Lebanon a couple of years back):



White phosphorus is pretty when it explodes, isn't it? Almost makes you think of fireworks - unless, of course, you're in the way:

(Man covers self w/coat as white-phosphorus explodes in residential area - Gaza City)

(Double-explosion of Israeli white-phosphorus - Gaza City)



(Had enough? Go here, and vote, if you live in the U.S. Let the world know what you think.)

Gaza - The Fight Continues....

(Airburst of Israeli White Phosphorus Shell - Gaza; 2009)

While Israel asked for 'continued patience' with its lopsided military campaign in Gaza, Ehud Olmert, Israel's Prime Minister, stated that Israel was "...close to achieving its objectives...." in its Gaza campaign.

So far, nearly 900 Palestinians have been killed in this campaign, with over three times that (over 3,600) wounded.

The Israelis have lost 13.

The newest wrinkle? White phosphorus shells. More on that in a bit.

Background:

The Geneva Convention is one of two 'conventions' (or documents-signed-by-mutual-agreement-of-convened-nations) which make up the bulk of international law. The Geneva Convention is made up of four treaties, the last of which deals with the treatment of prisoners of war. The Geneva Protocol (1925) covers the manufacture and use of chemical weapons. The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 govern the conduct of armies in the field and the nations which employ them. They form the bulk of the international laws regarding the conduct of war; they also lay out the Laws of War.

Application:

The Israeli government, a signatory to both Hague and Geneva Conventions, has agreed to abide by not only the Laws of War, but the Conventions which outline and define them. There's a lot of verbiage in there - verbiage about the definition of an 'occupied' territory; the status of non-combatants, and the conduct of a campaign against them. (Hint: Collective punishments are a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention). 

What is White Phosphorus?

White phosphorus is a chemical which burns on exposure to air. It also creates dense, white smoke. It was commonly used in artillery shells in WWI to mask troop movements; it was also 'airburst' (detonated in the air) above troops, because the phosphorus component tended to 'drop', rather than combusting all at once. When it contacts human flesh, it does not extinguish upon being surrounded with either flesh or blood -- it continues burning, right down to the bone.

(Israeli White Phosphorus Ground-Burst - Civilian Area; Gaza - 2009)

Because of this, the use of white phosphorus against troops is severely limited by international law - it may only be used (1) to screen troop movements against action by an enemy, and to (2) prevent heat-seeking weapons from finding a target (those tendrils throw off a heat-seeking missile rather well). White phosphorus is prohibited in military use against any civilian population, or in any area where civilians are located.

Israeli Violations of International Law: 

Hamas (the party forming the legally-elected government in Gaza) has launched sugar/fertilizer rockets against Israel, claiming 15 lives since 2000. In response, Israel has (1) launched a campaign of collective punishment against the Palestinians living in Gaza; (2) used chemical weapons against them [the aforementioned white phosphorus]; (3) attacked civilian centers and areas specifically prohibited, such as mosques and hospitals; and (4) continued this campaign when asked to cease by the United Nations. (If you're interested, there's a good fact-sheet here.)

(Lebanese Civilian Killed by Israeli White Phosphorus - 2006)

I'm hoping you'll all follow the links in blue and self-educate. The 'commentary' you might be hearing from other blogs and websites in support of these atrocities simply do not square with the facts - Israel is engaging in an illegal assault on a people not granted even the most basic of human rights. Educate yourselves. Write your congressperson and the Israeli ambassador to the U.S 

You now have the facts; unvarnished. Reach your own conclusions - -and for once, don't let Hannity, O'Reilly, your pastor, or anyone else tell you what to think.

Warren, Obama, and the Danger to the Constitution....

As the truth comes out regarding Rick Warren and Obama's outright-pandering the to the Religious Right and Israel, it's worth a moment to take a look at the support behind such actions as California's Proposition 8, and other attempts to secure basic human and civil rights for all Americans.

Turns out that Rick Warren's megachurch in California owes its spiritual inspiration to a man named W.A. Criswell. Criswell was the founder of the "Conservative Resurgence" in the Southern Baptist Convention (an organization already known for its conservatism). Criswell was, up to his death in 2002, active politically, and preached "Biblical inerrancy."

Warren has continued with this mantle, having founded his Saddleback megachurch in 1980, coinciding with the beginnings of the Neoconservative political movement in America.

Warren grew his church through preaching the same 'inerrancy' of the Bible, plus falling in line with the Neocons on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage.

He focused on church growth and recruitment during the early years of his ministry - this effort has paid off in spades, as he now has a church with a weekly attendance of 23,000 people, making it the largest church in California and the fourth largest in the United States.

He obtains a lot of support for his varying initiatives from the Alliance Defense Fund, a Neoconservative organization which has dedicated itself, as nearly as I can tell, to the social and economic marginalization of gays, atheists, and others who do not agree with their religious agenda. This effort is done in the name of 'religious liberty'.

(Alliance Defense Fund promotional video, which restates their 'victories' against gay rights and other human freedoms.) 

Recently, Jordan Lorance, senior-counsel for the ADF, wrote an article in CNN where he extols the virtues of mob-rule ("...the overwhelming majority of Americans and, indeed, humanity, agrees with (Rick) Warren. Americans have voted to preserve marriage in all 30 states where it has been on the ballot by an average vote of more than 65 percent.")

What Lorance fails to point out is that in every one of these cases, there was a concerted effort by churches (which enjoy tax-free status in the U.S.) to defeat measures granting these civil rights, and equal efforts to secure the passage of measures aimed against granting those rights.

All of this right-wing bombast about 'supporting the Constitution' seems to ignore a basic fact -- civil rights are human rights, and the Constitution's chief aim is to support those rights -- not provide a forum for the spread of religion.

Obama, for his part, seems oblivious to this wholesale attack on the Constitution by the Fundamentalists and the Neoconservatives. Allowing the fox in the henhouse, he's bringing Warren to Washington, to speak at his inaugural.

Lorance views anyone who opposes this action under First Amendment grounds as "duplicity".

People for the American Way, a civil-rights organization, has publicly opposed Warren's presence in Washington during the inaugural. Lorance, for his part, has stated that this opposition is based on their belief that"...Warren and others spread the "big lie" that redefining marriage would threaten the freedom of speech and religious liberties of those who hold the view shared by the vast majority of Americans."  In other words, being a Constitutional republic, which guarantees the rights of all regardless of whether or not they belong to a 'minority', is a bad idea - the mob should rule.

Just like the did in Germany in the 1930's.

So, while we celebrate the election of the first African-American president, let's pause to remember something our parents taught us:

A man is known by the company he keeps.

The Land (An Apologetic for Palestine)

 


"Get off my land!"
"What for?"
"Because it's mine."
"Where did you get it?"
"From my father."
"Where did he get it?"
"From his father."
"Where did he get it?"
"He fought for it."

"Well, I'll fight you for it."

- Carl Sandburg

(Between the Mediterranean and the Jordan river, there is a land called Palestine. With one side facing the sea, it was an ideal land for fishing, trade, and farming.

It was first occupied by Paleolithic peoples, who lived in caves and hunted.

Over time, these gave way in succession to Bronzed Age and Iron Age peoples, then to the Semitic peoples from the interior.

Their time was brief - as the Persians, then the Greeks, and finally the Romans came, each bringing war, and new beliefs. A branch of the Semitic peoples stuck to their old ways and the old beliefs, and carried on.

After the Romans, came the Arabs. With the Arabs, came a new religion. With the Arabs, came the Christians - and more war.

The Christians gave way again to the Arabs - with war. Then, the Egyptians and the Ottomans came - with war.

Finally, the Christians threw out the Ottomans....)

I was asked by several people to touch on the whole concept of land - because regardless of what political issues are being decided in Gaza as I write this, land is, as one of my history professors said, 'the Original Fact'.

In a speech in July, 2001, Benjamin Netanyahu, former Prime Minister of Israel, stated during an interview with a CNN reporter, "The anchorwoman said that the Palestinians say 'you're taking their land', and I answered, 'It's not their land.' At that point, there was a hush in the studio, and I began hearing people say, 'What did he say?', and 'It's not their land??', and I said again, "It's not their land. It's been our land for over 3,000 years."

History would disagree with him. As a trained historian, I disagree with him - but that's another matter.


Lord Balfour; and his Declarations:

The origins of the current nation of Israel (as well as much of its trouble) have their roots in the Balfour Declaration of 1917. This document was drafted and approved by the British Cabinet in the twin hope that Jewish people would emigrate to Palestine, relieving a building anti-Semitism in Europe, and that the Zionists, many whom were wealthy bankers, would help fund Britain's role in WWI.

As to the Palestinians, Balfour stated, "We do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country."

Since the early 1900's, Zionists in Britain had been purchasing large tracts of land in Palestine from absentee landowners, many of them Turks from the Ottoman occupation, holding these deeds in-trust against a time when they could be used to settle Jewish people on the land in question.

Palestinian farmers had cultivated the land for centuries, with possessory rights in-common-law. The stage was set for the conflict which continues today.

(While the entire history of the Balfour Declarations of '17 and '26, plus the Palestinian Mandate and what followed are well out of the purview of a small blog-post, I'd strongly recommend the additional reading, below, for a scholarly and impartial understanding of the issues involved).


Israel has no Constitution. This alone makes it difficult to call Israel any form of enlightened republic -- because they're a representative democracy (representatives are elected by straight popular vote, and enact laws accordingly.) With no governing document, the laws can take the form of whim, or simple mob-rule - and they do.

One of the Basic Laws in Israel has to do with land ownership.

In sum, no one owns land in Israel. It's owned by an organization called the Jewish National Fund, which takes its origins from the Zionist groups which purchased land in-trust back around the turn of the last century. The JNF has continued this process of paper-trading-as-proof-of-ownership to this day.

The Fund was further codified in 1961, with an agreement between the Fund and the Israeli government. Simple paper-transfers made it possible for the Israeli government to own nearly 80% of all land within the 1949 armistice lines, with the Fund owning 16%. The remainder is encumbered by deed-clauses which prevent the transfer of the land to anyone but Jews.

The Charter of the JNF prohibits it from 'alienating', or selling land to anyone other than of Jewish ancestry. The agreement between the Israeli government and the JNF prohibits the same. The effect? No one but a person of Jewish ancestry may own land in Israel.

Everyone else - including the 1.5M Palestinians -- is a squatter, by law. 

The fact that the Knesset has, by virtue of enacted law, given governmental functions to a private institution has codified Zionism - because the national institutions (in this case, the JNF) can actively discriminate against a person because of their ethnic or religious affiliation, without the government being seen as such.

Ownership of land -- who can, and who can't - is part of the fabric of any nation. Israel has proven itself out to be a racist state for its practices.

Further Reading:


"The Case For Palestine - An International Law Perspective" (John Quigley; Duke University Press; 1990)

(Note: This is one of the top ten books on the subject, anywhere, and the most recent. Quigley is the President's Club Professor of Law at Ohio State University, and has with this book created the most objective look into the whole Israeli/Palestinian issue from a legal perspective.)

"I Stopped Terrorism" (Benjamin Netanyahu; speech on 9 July; 2001 - netanyahu.org)

Balfour Declaration - 1917 (text; Wikipedia)

Balfour Declaration - 1926 (text; National Archives of Australia)

Basic Laws of Israel (knesset.gov; Israeli government website)

While Gaza Burned....

(Palestinians; protesting the imminent invasion of Gaza - January 3; 2009)

It continues.

While Israel continues to hype the destruction caused by Palestinian rocket attacks, Israel today invaded Gaza with an undisclosed number of ground-troops. "We want to create a situation where the civilian population is no longer on the receiving end of those deadly Hamas rockets", said Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesman today.

Meanwhile, Israeli artillery and aircraft continued to pound civilian and military centers alike in Gaza City and beyond, while Ismail Radwan, Hamas' spokesman, said that they would "fight to the last breath" in defense of what little they had. Electricity and water have been cut to most civilian areas, and a humanitarian crisis looms.

What is Hamas, Anyway?: 

Hamas is one of the political parties in the commonly-accepted 'Palestinian areas' (comprised of around 3,800 square miles, mainly in the area of the West Bank, but also comprising the Gaza strip, in the southwestern part of Israel.); Fatah being the other party. Of the two, Hamas is the more-militant.Since their founding in 1987, they've wasted no time in stating unequivocally that their goal is the destruction of Israel.Initially, the Fatah party, lead by Yasser Arafat, held sway in Palestine.

As Israel began adopting a harder and harder stance toward the Palestinians, Hamas began to gain popularity. Responsible for aggressive quasi-military operations against Israel (including suicide bombings), Hamas also has a humanitarian arm, which has built schools and hospitals throughout the Palestinian areas.

Winning a major election in 2006, Hamas has consolidated its power both within the Palestinian authority and particularly in Gaza, where the majority of its power-base lies. Since that election, infighting has occured between Fatah and Hamas, including political assassinations. 

In 2007, Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, outlawed both Hamas' militia and its executive branch, leaving only its humanitarian arm with any legality.

This has not prevented Hamas from acting as the de-facto, if not de-jure, government in Gaza. Having won 76 of 132 seats in the 2006 election, Abbas was left, in his own mind, with no other alternative than to dissolve the government, which he did in 2007.

Early in 2008, the United States, in conjunction with Israel, funded militia which was loyal to Abbas and the Fatah party, with the idea that an 'emergency government', beholden to the U.S. and aligned with Fatah, would take power. Hamas and Fatah began internal negotiations to break the stalemate in March, 2008. The planned 'coup' never materialized as a result.

Rockets; Rockets....

Much has been made of the Hamas rocket-attacks on Israel. The majority of the rockets launched by Hamas against Israeli territory are of the Qassam-type.The Qassam rocket is an irregular munition; it varies from 6-7' in length and 6-8" in diameter (presumably based on the length and diameter of irrigation pipe available); this is cut in half and rewelded with a center partition, separating the rocket into 1/3 (upper) and 2/3rds (lower). A washer is welded on the bottom, along with three or four metal fins.The bottom 2/3rds is filled with a 50/50 mixture of plain white sugar and potassium nitrate (a common fertililzer). The top 1/3rd is filled with either gunpowder or TNT (if available).

Lastly, a cone is fitted to the top of the rocket with an impact-detonator, usually a spring-loaded mechanism attached either to a shotgun shell or rifle-cartridge, intended to detonate the explosive charge upon hitting any object (or the ground).

As the rockets have no guidance system of any sort, it is impossible to 'aim' the weapon in any manner other than to provide a general-downrange area-of-direction.  Since Hamas began using these lashups in 2002, a total of 15 Israelis have been killed by them; mostly civilians.

In spite of Israeli press-releases about 'hundreds of tons' of munitions and 'advanced rockets' smuggled into Gaza, the fact remains that the only rockets leaving Gaza for Israeli territory are these homemade-affairs, which result in more Palestinian casualties than Israeli.

(Qassam-rocket damage - note partially blown-out ceiling and intact walls.)

(Bomb damage by Israeli jets in response to rocket attacks.)

Response:

Israel's response to the Qassam has been lopsided. Qassam launchings (which Shimon Peres himself has called 'laughable') are usually met with several air-raids and dozens of artillery shells, killing 10-15 Palestinians for every Israeli casualty.Conclusions:For all the rhetoric, Hamas simply wants the freedom of the Palestinians, and is using rocket attacks as well as any other means at its disposal to get the attention of the Israelis. 

For all the bombast, Israel has 'suffered' minimally from the launching of homemade rockets at Israeli towns near Gaza.

Once again, Israel is coming off as the bully.