The Crime of Israel… and the list of The Top Ten greatest Threats to the World

I haven’t written anything for this or any other of my blogs since 7 June 2007. That’s a long time ago and a lot has happened in the world since then. I gave up writing for my blog for a mixture of reasons. Firstly because I did not really have the time anymore, and since I thought no one ever really reads what I write I (rightly or wrongly, probably wrongly) kind of thought “why bother”. Other reasons played a role too and I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue with this kind of blog writing.

But I am back (for this one time).


My second to last article on my blog was titled “The Top Ten Greatest Threats to the World”.

Due to the length of time that had passed since I wrote this article I was surprised to receive a comment for this article on 18 October 2008 from: Blackrain. His comment was:

So right Joe. How prolific. You wrote this almost a year and a half ago, and look at us now!

Blackrain was of course referring to the latest economic situation in the world. Which I had listed many times in my list, directly and indirectly.

I also listed another major threat to the world. Listed at Nr. 5 that has now become acute.

Israeli Politics.

Once again, just as in Iraq, we in the World stand by and passively watch as human rights violations, unjust and disproportionate and illegal death and destruction, on MEN, WOMEN and CHILDREN is carried out by a superior power.

Yes, rockets have been and are being fired at Israel. Yes, this is not right and is not to be supported or condoned. This is a reality.

But there is also another reality. That these rockets (while they should not be excused, supported or condoned) usually only cause some damage and rarely death. This does not mean that this makes them right, or acceptable, or harmless, or any other thing. They are not right and should be stopped.

But to kill over 500 people (and how many more to come?) and create so much destruction of homes, properties and people lives is shameless, and is a far greater crime.

It is a crime against all human rights, and human life, and life in all forms.

It is a disproportionate, inhuman crime.

To treat people the way Israel treats Palestinians, treating them like dirt, like nothing, barricading them from food and supplies, from medical care and help, from travelling, from life, from their own land and property, building walls, denying them any real decency, hope or possibilities, or future, denying them their beliefs, denying their human rights, controlling them in every way possible, denying them energy and water….and continually using their superior and disproportionate military and technical power……and doing this year after year after year…then it is little wonder that you aggravate some reaction….

..it is to wonder if this is what Israel really wants…keep the rockets coming and they have arguments and excuses to squeeze the Palestinians from their land, their hopes, and…? They certainly do not show any real meaningful sign of truly wanting peace. Peace in any relationship has to be suitable for both sides. But Israel has the power and upper hand and is not willing to sacrifice this. And certainly not so long as it is supported by America.

As in the case of Iraq we, the rest of the World just stand by and watch, and do nothing. All too often we believe the arguments that Israel gives to support its actions and policies. Just as the Americans and so many others believed Bush about the reasons for (illegally) invading Iraq. It turned out not to be true.

Yet once again we do the same. We believe the arguments quickly. It is no surprise that Bush supports Israel, although he does it indirectly, as so many things. That politicians like rightwing Angela Merkel of Germany who also quickly supported Israel is probably also no great surprise, although downright disgusting and a shame and a crime against humanrights.

I think it is unlikely that much will change when Barack Obama is in power either. I would truly like to hope that he will bring change, but…If he truly wanted change from his heart he would not be keeping silent now. But in politics it is always politics that are more important, being popular and keeping in power…not real human lives…not real real change. If we see the people he is bringing into important positions in government then change would not seem to all that high on the list…..and certainly not human lives.

And what about us…we keep silent of course, just watch passively, believe the Israeli and other Western powers propaganda…the propaganda from (political background) radio and T.V. senders such as the BBC….

We see the destruction and the death…we know it is disproportionate…illegal….inhuman…a crime….we know it is power….. But we do nothing…

….are we not also committing a crime…

A crime against humanity, human rights, against life….?

It’s a Mans World (Angela Merkel)

Unfortunately this is all too often true when it comes to women getting higher positions in such things as business and politics. Occasionally a woman manages to fight herself to the top or near the top. Does this mean we should support her just for that? Such a woman is Angela Merkel the German right wing CDU political party leader. In the last weekend German elections Angela Merkel’s party (CDU) together with the right wing party CSU managed to get three parliament seats more than the previous governing party of the SPD (left wing). Some weeks before the election the opinion polls had shown that her party should get a clear majority but mistakes (on her part?) caused many people (along with social security fears) not to vote for her when Election Day came. In actual fact her political party got far less than the SPD but because the CDU votes are bundled together with the CSU she managed to get the three seats advantage. However this is not enough to automatically mean she is the new boss, so discussions now take place to resolve the matter of who is going to be that new boss of Germany. Personally I would like to see more women having power positions but this does not mean I automatically support a woman when she succeeds to get up there with the men!

When I was younger I was dazzled by the man’s world of “Cowboy and Indian” films and stories and the rugged Wild West countryside. Then the cowboy gunslinger films or James Dean types and big bouncing cars driving down deserted roads in fascinating countryside. America seemed to be the place you just had to be! It seemed the only place to make your dreams come really true, the only place in the world where anything and everything was possible, where men were real men.

What happened, did I grow up? Well for some reason these earlier fascinations faded the older I got. Perhaps simply because I gained access to other information and views. In the earlier Soviet countries and satellite countries I had discovered that for many people the Great American Dream wish was even stronger than mine had ever been. They idealised and almost worshipped this American vision of the West. Then there came the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the earlier Soviet systems. East Germany was incorporated into West Germany to form Germany and the right wing party CDU were in charge of this integration. Helmut Kohl the CDU leader and Chancellor of Germany at the time was only too eager to prove how great he was in this important time (he seemingly had an ego much larger than his excessively large stomach). However perhaps driven by this large ego he badly overestimated and this was the start of the German economical demise and the ever growing amount of unemployed (the left wing SPD leader Gerard Schroeder took over this legacy from the right wing CDU). But sometimes dreams die hard and some people from the old East Germany kept their idealisation and worship of the American Dream (for some they even wished the old East Germany back along with their earlier dreams).

Angela Merkel was brought up in the former East Germany and she certainly seems to have some wonder (idealisation/worship?) of American things (the Great American Dream?) and the greater part of her political ideals seems based on this. Angela Merkel wants (figuratively and politically speaking of course) to get into bed with Bush. No doubt she is going to have to fight with Blair about this (political) honour. I think Blair jealously guards his political bed position with Bush although at best I can only imagine him having a sleeping dog (curled up at the end of the bed) position and more likely only has a camp bed in some small room nearby, at hand for whenever he is needed by Bush. Still clearly Merkel is willing.

In a BBC World Service interview with a writer who has just completed an autobiography on Angela Merkel he (the writer) was asked did he think, based on the material he had gathered for the autobiography, that Angela Merkel would be able to form and lead a coalition. The writer replied that he thought she would. He described her as a power person. A person who wanted power and therefore a person who would make compromises to attain and retain that position of power. He said she would not give up this chance of power easily.

Isn’t that sad! To think this is the type of person (man or woman) who makes it to the top! No wonder why Angela Merkel (figuratively and politically speaking) wants to get in bed with Bush. What other bed of real power is there that that one in Washington. Is this the kind of person we really want as a leader? Not for me thanks! I don’t care if she is a woman who has made it to the top. This is a woman who seemingly has only made it to the top because of this desire for power and not for any other worthwhile political or human concerns. As her policies before the election have already clearly shown. They are empty of all but that wish for power (business equals money equals power). It is a Dream to believe that unemployment under her leadership will be drastically reduced any more than it would be under the socialists. Yes, a small minority will benefit from her as leader of Germany, those already with money and the business communities. A small amount of jobs will be created in some special areas, but many more will be lost in many other areas. Certainly the powerful will become more powerful, and the rich richer, while the rest will become poorer, work longer, harder, have less rights and those without will struggle desperately. Oh yes she will also make Bush and Blair happy and no doubt American businesses will profit too. But the majority of Germany’s population will not, and certainly things like human rights, social structures and securities, environment and such like will suffer tremendously under this woman. Perhaps many of these things will even disappear, even if not immediately.

This is not the kind of quality leadership I believe a woman could bring to politics when enough were given the chance, but they are not given enough chances so now only the odd power driven woman makes it to the top dreaming of power driven men like Bush (and Blair?).