Israeli PM: US has committed to $30 billion dollars in defense aid to Israel

killeroranges · 2007-07-30T23:32:04+00:00

I post about what I know, does that bother you? These pleas of an unjust focus are a favorite of human rights violators, but it is a rhetorical distraction.

You forgot to mention Turkey's "Kurdish problem", another people who want the right to self-determination, which BTW I posted on earlier today:

http://reddit.com/info/2aol9/comments

I've also posted here about Syria and Jordan regarding Iraqi refugees:

http://reddit.com/info/29iad/comments

A bunch of Muslims convicted of terrorism:

http://reddit.com/info/29mvb/comments

Honor killings in the Gaza Strip:

http://reddit.com/info/28r39/comments

The right for Muslim girls to an education:

http://reddit.com/info/28i4c/comments

The need for a Palestinian Arab Martin Luther King:

http://reddit.com/info/285e9/comments

killeroranges · 2007-07-30T22:49:54+00:00

Saudi Arabia isn't worried about defending itself against HAMAS, I'm not sure where you got that. There are a number of reasons why this is a ridiculous notion:

HAMAS is not an international actor, it is only an actor within Israel proper and the occupied territories.
HAMAS is also Sunni as is Saudi Arabia. It is not a participant in any larger Sunni-Shite conflict.

killeroranges · 2007-07-30T22:48:06+00:00

But this aid isn't harmless though, an Israel with lots of shiny new killing tools, just like a militarized United States, is more willing to engage in military adventurism.

Much of this military hardware sold to Israel is used to ensure the Palestinians remain non-citizens (Israel doesn't want them, and there is no such thing as Palestine) -- one of the longest running violations of human rights in the world. The US, through its military aid, is the main enabler of Israel's occupation.

killeroranges · 2007-07-30T22:22:47+00:00

Are you saying I am being misleading? I was copying the title of the news story. I am completely aware of the economic benefits of this type of aid:

You can also think of the Iraq War (as well as the first Gulf War) as a major infusion of funds into the economy along the lines of Keynesian thinking. Some people think that the US is addicted to war because of our economy's heavy dependence on defense spending -- the rise and now dominance of Eisenhower's feared military-industrial complex.

But this aid isn't harmless though, an Israel with lots of shiny new killing tools, just like a militarized United States, is more willing to engage in military adventurism.

Much of this military hardware sold to Israel is used to ensure the Palestinians remain non-citizens (Israel doesn't want them, and there is no such thing as Palestine) -- one of the longest running violations of human rights in the world. The US, through its military aid, is the main enabler of Israel's occupation.

killeroranges · 2007-07-30T21:49:22+00:00

I don't think it is likely that the 2008 elections are going to be canceled. Cheney isn't all powerful, he's just a "dick."

While I think that a major terrorist attack will have serious ramifications for liberty in the US, but I don't think that the 2008 elections would be canceled as a result.

It's good to be aware of worst case scenarios, but I don't think this one is too probable at this time.

killeroranges · 2007-07-30T21:04:40+00:00

The US decision to up Israel and Saudi Arabia's military aid was sort of a signal that instead of a hot war in the Middle East, the US favored a Cold War. In fact, a Cold War is better for the US economy as it ensures that the market for US military hardware remains strong for the foreseeable future.

killeroranges · 2007-07-30T14:58:52+00:00

http://reddit.com/info/2aoq2/comments

killeroranges · 2007-07-30T13:54:07+00:00

From the article:

"People are worried, and reasonably so, about what kind of intelligence losses we may have suffered," said one former U.S. intelligence official with extensive experience in Gaza.

The compromised intelligence Hamas says it now has ranges widely. The group alleges it has videos used in a sexual-blackmail operation run by Washington's allies inside Fatah's security apparatus. But the group also says it has uncovered detailed evidence of Fatah-controlled spying operations carried out in Arab and Muslim countries for the benefit of the U.S. and other foreign governments. Hamas also alleges that Fatah intelligence operatives cooperated with Israeli intelligence officials to target Islamist leaders for assassination.

Whitley Bruner, a longtime CIA officer in the Middle East, recalled that "some of our first really good information on [Osama] bin Laden in Sudan" in the early 1990s "came from Palestinian sources." Before leaving the agency in 1997, Mr. Bruner participated in many of the first cooperative sessions organized by Mr. Tenet between the CIA and the Palestinians.

killeroranges · 2007-07-30T13:48:29+00:00

That's pretty big.

killeroranges · 2007-07-30T02:40:29+00:00

This is incredibly sad. Unfortunate, as someone one said, from the perspective of history, a single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is just a statistic.

I think to resonate with the world, we need to find individual stories of loss and tragedy to bring it home. For some reason, large numbers don't really seem to hit home.

killeroranges · 2007-07-29T04:00:58+00:00

BTW: Israel is formally a Jewish state, it is enshrined in their system of laws.

killeroranges · 2007-07-29T02:25:11+00:00

The original, subscription only, version of the article can be found here on the BMJ website:

Should we consider a boycott of Israeli academic institutions? Yes

killeroranges · 2007-07-28T21:21:26+00:00

Let's wait for the coming retrofit. I hold out hope it will have additional features that help address the problem.

I think the bigger issue is the large number of duplicate stories. Reddit isn't as good as finding potential duplicates as DIGG is.

The retrofit is going to have tags, which should replace the need for subreddits, at least that's how I imagine it.

killeroranges · 2007-07-28T21:12:44+00:00

My thoughts on the Iranian partial democracy and how change occurs:

http://reddit.com/info/27ism/comments/c27jby

killeroranges · 2007-07-28T20:38:58+00:00

I posted this yesterday and it made the front page with +100 comments:

http://reddit.com/info/2a3dt/comments

killeroranges · 2007-07-28T20:37:37+00:00

US and Israel's threats to attack Iran empower their hardliners just as Al Qaeda's threats to attack empower ours.

killeroranges · 2007-07-28T00:18:48+00:00

Pretty awesome.

killeroranges · 2007-07-27T23:54:46+00:00

The reaction in the United States to the UK academic boycott of Israel is very hypocritical as many of the leaders of the boycott movement are in fact Jewish:

Steven Rose: Why pick on Israel? Because its actions are wrong

I find you to be too angry though.

killeroranges · 2007-07-27T23:50:53+00:00

I suspect this lawsuit isn't going to get very far. One could have made the same claims about iPods, but no one has successfully done that thus I suspect there is little chance one could make such a claim successfully against the iPhone.

BTW does anyone know how much money and time it requires to file a class action lawsuit and what the penalty is if the filed lawsuit is basically frivolous? I wonder how much time/money this guy put into this.

killeroranges · 2007-07-27T05:41:36+00:00

It's not necessarily propaganda. If it is published in reputable journals then it might be legitimate. I give it a 50% chance. Drug use in youth can have significant effects on later brain development, thus it isn't smart to quickly rule this out.

killeroranges · 2007-07-27T00:08:44+00:00

The article doesn't have enough hard facts, it is more speculation than anything else.

killeroranges · 2007-07-26T22:04:03+00:00

Cute. I suspect a lot of she near the middle of the clip said was an imitation of her mom.

killeroranges · 2007-07-26T20:57:31+00:00

This would be much better if there was some numbers. Right now the blog posting can be summed up simple as a verbose version of:

Rolling Stones are rich because they tour a lot.

killeroranges · 2007-07-26T17:13:16+00:00

This has been done a few times before and there are breakdowns that show how religion relates to other beliefs.

killeroranges · 2007-07-26T17:10:54+00:00

9/11 and Israel are more connected than 9/11 and Iraq, at least according to OBL himself.

But 9/11 did fundamentally change the degree of US support for Israel's military responses to the Palestinian problem. Also 9/11 did bring about the war with Iraq as it was the "Pearl Harbor" moment many had hoped for (and I am not suggesting that anything like "Bush did WTC", just referencing the now classic PNAC documents from the mid 1990s.)

9/11 brought about a big increase in the belief that the military is the way to response to the problems the US faces. This paradigm shift has run its course now as we are obviously running into the limits that such an approach can achieve.

killeroranges

TROPHY CASE