I read this morning, on Al Jazeera, that Israel has approved the building of a gazillion more apartments in East Jerusalem. We have accommodation pressures, some Israeli mouthpiece explained. My blood pressure, predictably, began to rise.
I thought to my self, self, there’s little to be gained by getting your knickers in a knot writing yet another rant about what Israel does because the bottom line is that Israel, like America, does whatever it wants.
My prediction about Judaic Israel is that it will continue to talk about peace while it goes about its building of Greater Israel. It is poised to invade the Gaza Strip and will probably push the Palestinians who live there into Egypt. The world will huff and puff but do nothing. Next it will invade, occupy and annexe the lower part of Lebanon citing security concerns. Next bit of the jigsaw is to consolidate its hold on the Golan Heights. That done, it’ll concentrate on making life even more intolerable for the hapless inhabitants of the West Bank. Eventually they’ll leave and those who don’t, well, there are ways of getting rid of unwanted pests. That will extend its borders to the Jordan River and Greater Israel, with its atomic weapons and its population of religious fanatics, will thumb its nose at the world and its neighbours! Who dares wins!
Meanwhile, its bigger brother: war-mongering, greed-crazed, Christian fundamentalist America, will go about its carefully planned hegemonic business also citing security concerns to cover its real ambitions. It will seek further control of countries that have scarce economic resources (invading them if necessary) and it will continue to build military bases in every which place while it simultaneously cultivates ‘spheres of influence’ with all manner of amoral military and royal despots. Keep in mind that he who controls vital scarce resources and also has a widely dispersed mega-military can control the world and stop the development of potential rivals!
There you have it. The future direction of the world is a foregone conclusion. Like it or lump it! You have no choice. A world run by right-wing, greedy, militaristic, nuclear-armed, religious fanatics: what more could you ask for?
Don’t answer that!
P.S. Those who don’t go with the flow will eventually experience extremes of unpleasantness. Remember the Spanish Inquisition! Read 1984 again. Think about rendition, waterboarding, prison without trial, Abu Graib, etc.
P.P.S. To survive, blog endlessly about asinine trivia (to some, this is second nature). Do not, I repeat, do not question the status quo. Vigorously support:
all incumbent governments, all religious institutions (go lightly on Islam), imperialism, capitalism, all minority groups (even those which have socially-destructive agendas), nationalism, materialism, onanism, necrophilia-ism, feminism, amoralism, ego-centrism, elitism, intellectualism, fascism, popularism, etc. Become anonymous, just a voice in the crowd, an indistinct shadow on the wall.
David,It has been said ad nauseam,there will never ever be a “Palestinian State” and groups like Hamas know it.The more pragmatic among the ranks of the most oppressed, are moving on with there lives,and are getting out if they can.
The writing is on the wall,and the Israeli’s have the time and the resources, to drag it out as long as it takes, to rid themselves of the problem as they see it.
For mine,oh my God the irony of it all,the “Final Solution” may come if and when there is an attack on Iran.I think while the world looks on in total dis-belief of the ramification of such an action, they will clean out the Gaza and push most of the remaining Palestinians into Egypt and Jordan.
The meetings of Bush with the leaders of the U/K,Germany and other leaders of allies is being “Sold as Bush’s arrivederci , something is being cooked up and it isn’t gonna taste to good.
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The whole situation disgusts me, Phill. Like you, I can see what is going on and, like you, I am powerless to stop it.
I have a feeling of failure. But at least I tried.
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Well Dave G. the future political environment of the world is not a foregone conclusion.
The power projection of the U.S. is currently based on credit. Any endeavor based on credit cannot carry on for the long-term.
Israel does not have the natural resources to sustain a long term military hegemony over the Middle East.
Israel is heavily dependent on a bankrupt U.S. for its survival.
Although both countries have nukes to use them would announce to the rest of the world that they are so dangerous that the whole planet would have to turn against them.
The rest of the world would shun these two nations economically and slowly strangle both to submission.
If either or both were to use enough nukes to defeat the economic sanctions then there would be enough radioactive dust in the air to render the planet un-inhabitable.
Hopefully we are not that arrogant as a species.
The only survival path for the human race is international cooperation.
The challenges that face the human race cannot be successfully met by and single nation. They are truly planet wide challenges that need a collective human response.
Although we are an arrogant, greedy, and shellfish species we are also “survivors”.
I have “faith” that cooler heads will recognize the dangers ahead and pull us back from the brink.
Well, hope does spring eternal…???????…
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David F, I do applaud your conviction that somehow we will stumble our way through.
However, there are a few factors which mitigate against it:
- religion addles and deranges minds.
- humans are killers by nature.
- the war paradigm is 10,000 year old.
- war makes money, lots of it.
- greed is endemic in human nature as is wanting to be top dog.
- atomic weapons have already been used so the threshold has been passed.
We live in interesting times!
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I am going to keep on trying to stop my government from invading Iran, and I do agree with every word in your article, and appreciate your saying what is.
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David G. your list of human failings is right on.
However, we humans are survivors and as Yogi Berra once said “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
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I admire David Flannery’s optimism and faith in the human spirit. However, I must concur with David G. In the last 30-40 years we have seen human beings regress. All the forward steps we seemed to be making after the New Deal and WWII – the foundation of the middle class, the Nuremburg Charter, the United Nations, the Human Rights Commission, advances in civil rights, women’s rights, peace treaties, unions, etc – are all being rolled backwards. The New Deal is almost undone, we have had Vietnam and the Gulf Wars and so many other big and little wars – most involving the U.S. and/or Britain – the dismantling of unions and American jobs as they are outsourced, increasing xenophobia and racism, the Doctrine of Preventative War, the destruction of habeas corpus, torture as state policy, ignoring congressional subpoenas and all the other snubbing of the other 2 branches of government by the new Unitary Executive of the U.S. – I could go on and on and on.
And through it all is the meltdown of the U.S. economy, brought about in part due to all these things. American (and other western “democracies”‘) hubris and hegemonic “our way or the highway” foreign “policy” is destroying the world bit by bit, while our once “great and good” nation is now a force for genocide and human rights abuses and illegal invasions and endless warfare.
I see it all ending in a very, very bad way: for the rest of the world while America declines, because the rabid, once-powerful giant will go out in some very, very violent death-throes before it lies still; and for America itself because the 280 million “everyday” Americans who are not protected behind the palisades of power and money will have to experience the ending of a very spoiled, privileged and self-righteous way of life and self-perception. In the end it will make the Great Depression look like a boom. But – in the very, utter end – it will hopefully cause a rebirth of the original ideals and principals that America was founded on. Maybe we will be able to rebuild our republic from the ashes and learn from our colossal mistakes.
Maybe – but I’m not holding my breath.
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Dear Demon, David F and anti-neocon, how nice it would be to meet one day, have a glass of wine or two and chat about things.
We each have a different perspective but we all see the unfortunate reality of our world and are concerned at the direction it’s taking.
I see the future as becoming an amalgamation of 1984 and Attwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Right-wing governments will fan the terrorist/Islamist issue until the world is filled with wars.
Then, using the ‘we are protecting you and God is on our side’ argument they will take away all human rights and rule by force, fear and ceaseless religious and nationalistic indoctrination.
Eat, drink and merry…!
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