In honesty: I don't understand the Middle East. Which is probably to my sanity's benefit. But I still don't know what to say or do, other than sit and my desk and pound my fists every time a new story comes up on my frequently-refreshed CNN tab.
And I'm not in the mood to write a goddamn film review. "Oh, this random art house comedy I saw over the weekend sucked" - well, how about that? The point being? Fiddling while Rome burns does not appeal to me and never has. But I know some of you loyal readers are pretty much only here for the movieblogging, hence:
-Shorter Tim's weekend: "The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green and Beowulf & Grendel both suck somthing fierce; but this was Teh Awesome."
Some people who do have something to say:
-Billmon, as usual, has been cranking out multi-thousand word essays over the weekend. Read them all, especially this one:
Israeli hawks will always be able to argue, truthfuly, that the Jewish state's massive military power is its greatest asset, while Palestinian militants will always be able to argue, equally accurately, that their side's extreme military weakness will make any negotiations into a not-so-veiled form of unconditional surrender. And they will both be right -- the logic of each other's positions ensures they will both right. Under such circumstances, the truth is the enemy of peace, not its friend.-Robert Farley on what this all means for Israel's street cred.
...
It seemed reasonable to hope that the Palestinians and the Israelis might both eventually realize this, bringing the perceived power relationship into closer balance and clearing the way for meaningful negotiations -- instead of the fraudulent propaganda shows we've seen over the past 13 years.
But I understand now that also wasn't very realistic. The Israelis are too close to what they really want (full and total control of the land and resources between the Jordan and the sea) and the Palestinians are too far away from what they really want (for the Jews to go back where they came from) for there to be any basis for meaningful negotiations. Not without a disinterested outside party to crack skulls on both sides if and when necessary.
-Matt Yglesias and Ezra Klein at Tapped debate the extent to which Israel cares about "collateral damage."
-Pharyngula, Hullabaloo & The Talent Show with the records of a now-defunct, hateful comment threadwith fundie "Christians" who are somewhat, let us say, optimistic about the upcoming war:
I too am soooo excited!! I get goose bumps, literally, when I watch what's going on in the M.E.!! And Watcherboy, you were so right when saying it was quite a day yesterday, in the world news, and I add in local news here in the Boston area!! Tunnel ceiling collapsed on a car and killed a woman of faith, and we had the most terrifying storms I have ever seen here!! But, yes, Ohappyday, like in your screen name , it is most indeed a time to be happy and excited, right there with ya!!I regret sometimes that I cannot get smashingly drunk at work.
If you want some random comments that might help your perspective...
ReplyDeleteI was taught that Israel wants to find a way to share and Palistinians want all the Jews to leave. I've actually seen a documentary that supports this in its portrayal of the differences between what Israeli v. Palistinian children are taught in school regarding each other. However, I do not remember the name of this and have no idea when it was made or whether or not it was propaganda.
Obviously this is generalizing. I have heard members of both sides speak in the opposite way. When I was there in 2001, we were addressed by an Israeli man from the Golan Heights, and the only sense his logic made to me was that was the reason everyone was still fighting (it was something along the lines of "we're here, so it's ours").
However, for my sanity, I've only skimmed what is going on right now, and I don't like arguing about politics.