Your Take: Middle East Recap

***EDIT 1/18/09: I goofed, and forgot to make time to compile everyone's answers...sorry if you were watching for them or commented on the empty post!***

Here's what everyone had to say about the latest outbreak of Israel-Palestinian violence:

Teresa left a comment:

"I do not think this will end. People, including myself, can pray, hope, wish nations such as Israel cut this horrible blood bath. I do not have a solution for this. My mind is way too simple and not military trained...I am somewhat good at problem solving but this is beyond a problem. These are women and children who have been slaughtered. It has gone past making me feel angry. I am almost in shock (even though I really shouldn't be)."

David(DMac) also clicked the link:

"How does one negotiate with people who don't bargain in good faith? Who kill "innocent" men, women, and children? Who keep upgrading their ability to kill? Oh, and all of those apply to both sides of the discussion.

"Great tragedy occurs when Right meets Right", John Stoessinger.

It is awfully hard to discriminate when terrorist/freedom fighters are hiding among children, in mosques, and in universities. It is particularly hard when using big bombs..."

Jeannine commented on the recap post:

"I don't think it is lack of interest in the topic as much as what is there to say. This who mess over there makes no sense, yes the sides both have a right to what is theirs but neither is really interested in compromise. Neither wants peace only dominance. I think it is hard for most people to stop their own daily preoccupations and even try to address such craziness but the sad truth is the only way for it to stop is to draw attention to the craziness and the hypocracy in an effort to awaken everyone higher ablities to deal with the issue."

Veronica chimed on the same post:

"I'm wondering why we're supporting Israel. They have done so much killing and we seem to keep backing them for reasons that maybe I'm not aware of, but it doesn't make any sense to me ..."

Jameel comes to us via Facebook:

"If in regards to Israel we seem to be pausing, then Israel, Gaza, Hamas, etc. etc. are sure as hell rewinding on 12x. Or playing. Or fast forwarding. If you get the metaphor."

Thanks for all the comments, folks, and taking the time to ponder a problem bigger than any of us (or maybe all of us).

Your Take: Middle East

So you read my take on the whole Middle Eastern drama. Essentially, I think it's time to stop Israel from committing war crimes whenever they feel threatened, and then put peace keepers on the ground.

Ah, if only it was that simple...

What's your solution to the crisis? Do you have one? Do you even care? When you hear about the latest about Israel and Gaza on the news, what do you feel about it?

Remember these are just prompts to get you thinking...go where you will in your response.

Leave me your thoughts via the comments or the e-mail option, and I'll post a recap this time next week. Thanks for the participation!

My Take: Israel, Palestine, and the Never Ending Story

I don't know about you, but I really, really liked the "Never Ending Story." I was at the perfect age for a sort of fantastic tale that involved getting sucked into books, fighting evil monsters, and that had a touch of sexuality that appealed to my nearly-pubescent self.

The never ending story in the Middle East is...well, nothing at all like that. No redeeming qualities.

In the face of continuing rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, Israel began a bombing campaign. It didn't stop the rocket attacks (as we all knew it wouldn't). It did, however, kill hundreds of people. Only some of them could be called terrorists. The targeting isn't quite as discriminatory as one would wish...I heard one NPR report state the Arab University received a good beating from the Israeli airforce.

This hasn't stopped the rockets in the past. How many times have Israeli tanks and planes attack Gaza? And...still, the rockets fly? Does anyone in the Knesset really think this latest offensive will do more than stir the pot?

The only way to stop the attacks from Gaza extremists is to make their message irrelevant. By giving the Palestinians an alternative to violence. As long as Israel kills, maims, starves, and freezes the population of Gaza, the militants are relevant. Their message is the truth. Israel proves with each air strike, with each ground incursion, the worst propaganda Hamas can tell the people.

How can the average Palestinian believe in a peace process when the Israelis behave like this? How can they possibly be expected to make friends with the people who do this?

Maybe it's because I grew up with three sisters, but I learned that when someone is fighting with you, you don't win just by fighting back harder. You just make the situation worse. Israel may fool itself into thinking that each tank, each missile, each platoon they use in Gaza will make them safer.

In reality, they're just sowing the seeds for another generation of brutal, inhuman conflict.

Wednesday

I actually slept this morning, and the BBC wasn't airing on WVXU last night for some reason. After Echoes went off the air, it was just...silence. Very odd. I'm willing to bet it's tied into a plea for money, but that's the risk you take with not-for-profit news.

I'll send them money as long as they don't behave like Fox News. It's a good trade.

Yesterday's post came up this morning because...I had it sort of in my head to write it all up, then edit and revise the next day. Sort of like a newspaper. But then it dawned on me last night I don't operate on anywhere near the same schedule as a newspaper...and all holding back the publishing of my posts would do is date my material.

So forget that. Besides, why should I behave less like a blogger and more like a respectable person?

Pretty soon, I'm gonna post about the primary system...but I need to research a little bit first. I'm not 100% sure I get it myself, which is frustrating when people ask me about it.

Now For Some News...

Huckabee Ahead Before GOP Debate. This disturbs me because while I don't really believe in the LDS' teachings, I care even less for Baptist teachings. The same conservative Christians who think the nation should be run according to the Bible support Huckabee, and I am NOT comfortable with that.

What's wrong with a nation run by the Bible? Take a hard look at Iran and then you can tell me.

DNA Ethics Debate. When you leave DNA behind (think spit in a coffee cup, or hair, or dandruff), it's been traditionally fair game. The courts have said little so far, and NPR is investigating into this legal gray zone.

The Arctic ice caps could be totally ice free during the summer by 2013. Does that make anyone else a little sad, and a lot frightened? When exactly do we as a nation pull our heads out of the sand and start running damage control on the environment?

True to their word at Annapolis, Israel and Palestine have started peace talks for the first time in seven years. The same old routine, Palestinians demanded a halt to all settlement growth, and the Israelis declared not enough was being done to crack down on militants. They did, however, agree to meet again and that's very nice.

Cincinnati could start using red light cameras, just like Columbus and Dayton. The city almost started using this technology in 2005, but Charlie Luken vetoed the plan. Mark Mallory, current mayor, is trying to postpone the debate on this issue until the formal, two year budget is discussed next year. Also mentioned by council members was the use of cameras to catch speeders.