Israeli-Arab Conflict

Weighing in on this particular issue with what I think are the perspectives of either side on several issues.

-- The charter of organisations such as Hamas and Hezbollah explicitly call for the destruction of the State of Israel. The Iranian PM publicly declared his will to "wipe Israel off the map", which received widespread support amongst Arab League politicians rather than condemnation. Apart from being totally uncivilised, this creates indescribable fear for Israelis, who feel there is a permanent existential threat to themselves
** Israel cannot continue to refuse to deal with Hamas and Hezbollah. It is stubbornly looking for ways to prevent making more concessions. Palestinians and other Arab citizens cannot be blamed for supporting Hamas along with their violent policies, for there are few credible alternatives, and Hamas runs Arabic schools and supports other infrastructure projects.

** The US has assisted Israel militarily and economically since 1948 far more than it has Palestinians and other Arab peoples, which is seen by Arabs within the framework of ongoing US hostility towards Islam
-- The US says its support for Israel is due to Israel being the only democratic, stable nation in the Middle East, and one which shares its goals, and trades freely

** The Israelis humiliate the Palestinians on a day-to-day basis. The Israeli security fence prevents Palestinians from leading ordinary lives, interfering with their families and businesses, and Arab-Israelis are discriminated against severely in Israeli society
-- The Israeli military can prove that these measures have caught hundreds of would-be suicide bombers, although whether this exceeds the number of bombers created out of peaceful people is debatable

** Palestinians are poor, humiliated and desperate and see no way out of their present situation. Israel does almost nothing to assist them in their plight. Other weak, corrupt Arab governments blame Israel for all of their problems in order to deflect criticisms from themselves
-- Israel says this is mostly their own fault, and that of the corrupt leaders that they elect. Further, Jews are critical of Arab families which are prepared to send their 10 year-old daughters on suicide missions to kill innocents.

** Ariel Sharon was said to have 'provoked' the 2nd Intifadah by his controversial visit to the Temple Mount. He indeed had no other reason to go other than the fact that he felt he should be able to, and he knew it would create hostility and resentment.
-- Israelis should be able to go where they want in their own country. Israel's population is 20% Arab and these citizens have the same rights as Jews, whereas in places such as Mecca, Saudi Arabia, simply being present at certain times is illegal for a Jew

-- Preceding the recent Lebanon conflict, there were hundreds of rockets fired in to Israel from Southern Beirut, killing many and terrorising more. If Australians set up rocket batteries in Cronulla and fired them at New Zealand, and if the Australian government repeatedly failed to respond to requests made by New Zealand to dismantle these rockets immediately, New Zealand would be justified in bombing these batteries
** Israel responded very heavy-handedly, and hundreds of innocent Lebanese were killed, and hospitals and other infrastructure were badly damaged or destroyed

-- The Palestinians were offered 90% of what they demanded for their new state at the 2000 Camp David Peace talks, and they rejected it. It is said that they "never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity"
** Israel delibarely has undermined the leadership of many Palestinian representatives and has encouraged factional disputes amongst the Palestinians for their own benefit.

-- In London, there has been 1 suicide bomb. There have been >400 suicide bombs in Israel since 2001, all of which have targeted civilians, bombs packed with nails in crowded market-places etc
** Ordinary Palestinians are being punished for the actions of their compatriots. -- Israel at least attempts to pick out terorists from civilians

-- Israel is so small it fits 3 times in to Tasmania - you can drive across it at its widest point in one hour. Elderly Israelis have seen their country give away more than 50% of its land as peace offers to various hostile neighbors since 1967, none of which have ultimately stemmed the hostility from those countries (Egypt is an exception)
** When Israel defeated its aggressors in 1967, it gained some areas of useless land which it has since refused to give back, and religious fundamentalist Jews continue to settle some areas of the West Bank against all international advice and agreements, thinking that the land is "holy".

Much of the land on which Israel was created was Palestinian territory prior to the 1948 mandate. Before that, it was often occupied by Jews. Throughout the ages, various parties have alternately occupied that territory, and it's clear that both groups have claims to joint ownership of vast swathes of land.

Mambo T-Shirt Philosophy

Those Mambo T-Shirts say “Make Love, Not War”. Southpark says "Make Love, not Warcraft". A mature love most certainly will not look like war. But I suspect that, particularly at the beginning, they aren't so different. Instead, there is simply passion, and arousal, and this could go either way. In and towards somebody special, somebody who might be a passionate love of yours, I think there is respect, fear, aggression, defeat/conquest, surrender, humiliation, occupation, and always a trace of possessiveness. All of these are military-related.
Even between the greatest of enemies there is often a connection, a passion. The outbreak of war between neighbours is usually a failure or strangulation of that connection. "A woman is like a violin - held tight, she is played by the man, who is the bow. He must know how to play her correctly to make her vibrate to the tunes that both she and he want to hear. And to do so, he must master her". Not as a dog, but he must understand her and let her know that she needs him as much as he her. Traditionalist, perhaps, but I suppose that's how it works for me.

Why ban Pantera? Tchaikovsky makes Pantera look like a placid pussy

I was just listening to Tchaikovsky's famous classical piece, the "1812 Overture". In a fit of ingenious madness, he composed it, hoping it could rally his Russian comrades to defeat the invading Napoleonic army. The music is tremendously beautiful and upliftingly powerful, although it is obviously EXCEPTIONALLY violent (more obviously so from 3 mins in). One can only imagine the impact it must have had when first played in that climate of fear, as 900,000 nationalistic Ruskies prepared in city squares for war. Three minutes in, the cannon fire and beauiful music combine spectacularly . How many more were killed in other wars while various commandos rolled in triumphantly in their tanks, listening to this piece? How many different pieces of artwork or aesthetics also encouraged murder?
It's funny that some conservative folks would try to ban Metallica, Pantera, Tool and Marilyn Manson, and yet completely overlook the 1812 Overture (which probably plays on their home stereo). Just because it is less explicit. Can anyone else suggest some other classical songs that glorify war as horrifyingly convincingly?

May we never again hear the cries to ban music, and may there be peace. Join me on this blog, through a weird mind. If you're really great, remember to avoid the mistake that almost all of the greats made. Get a life.

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"I'd rather you be convicted of possessing child porn than owning a Dickens"