Truth Compiled

I was passed this article by a friend... It talks about something that is all to common today; profiling, discrimination, and suppression of Muslims.

Sad...

Here's a link.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/29/AR2006092901334.html

Hey... guess what? 10 years later Colorado's crack legal squad finally gets their heads out of their asses and arrests someone for the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey.

In other news, my balls itch.

Here's what I want to know: Why does Hezbollah get the terrorist stamp? I can understand why many in the West would see them as "terrorist"... a professional militia armed to the teeth ignoring international demands for cease-fire. But do they have a right to their arms? Is their behavior condoned by Lebanon? It seems that for the moment Lebanon seems to think that Hezbollah have overstepped their bounds, but they do have a job to do. It's true that the group has earned a great deal of respect in southern Lebanon for defending the area, and helping in its liberation from Israel. No wonder southern Lebanese and many other Lebanese people are backing the actions of Hezbollah.

But, back to my point; why isn't Israel considered a terrorist organization as well? Humanitarian aid to Lebanon is being blocked because the convoys fear Israeli Attack. What's going on here? Sounds like the Israelis are getting a bit trigger happy to me. Westerners seem to feel that Israel is more legitimate than Hezbollah because they are a country, and seem to have far more international support. Others claim that Hezbollah manipulates the media and uses it for their own benefit.

Look the bottom line is, we need to get help to the poor Lebanese civilians, whom have born the brunt of the attack from Israel.

Then of course there's the question of (as there always is when we are dealing with a 'middle eastern' crisis) how oil is involved. Michel Chossudovsky has pointed out the timely inaguration of the Ceyhan-Tblisi-Baku (BTC) oil pipeline, and its striking proximity to the current conflict. It's almost as if Israel has a vested interest in the success and strategic continuation of this pipeline... hmmm.... But, is this really another war about oil? Is Israel really fighting on behalf of the other oil hungry major nations? Only time will reveal the true intentions of Israel, and their Western supporters.

Let me leave you with this excerpt from Lebanese blogger Rampurple, whom is explaining his stance on the conflict as a whole, and his frustration with international and local reaction:

I own a house and have a family. I have always allowed my neighbors to come in to my house as they wish and use my house as a place for their social gatherings, feuds, etc. I realized that doing such a thing has been causing my children to do poorly in school. So I made a decision to close my doors, put up a fence around my house and concentrate more on my family. I tell my neighbors, I am sorry but it is time I concentrate of taking care of my family. If you guys need any support I will be there for you but not in my house anymore.

It’s my right to do so.

My children are actually the people dying in Lebanon at the moment. My children are actually the people who have worked so hard in order to reach somewhere in their lives and all of a sudden their lives have been placed on hold and/or their dreams diminished. My children are the people who like everyone else would like to plan their lives and not be in fear of a war being erupted at any time.

I am just sick of this whole situation and want it to be over.

I think it would be very difficult to argue with Rampurple's position. The fine people of Lebanon do not deserve to be little more than an epicenter for mideast crisis once again. This "war" isn't about Lebanese people, and it shouldn't have to be frought at their expense.

So... Maybe you've heard about this little thing happening in Lebanon. Yeah, I guess Israel is pissed off at Hezbollah for taking some prisoners captive... whatever! Why can't we all just get along. But seriously, I know that you think you know what I am talking about; but do you really know? First, let's start with a map: Crisis Map.

Now that you know what the place looks like, we can get down to business. As you know, Bush and his usual gang of richy-rich homeboys are getting behind Israel. Others (Including the Lebanese people) are getting behind Hezbollah. It couldn't be more straightforward than this folks. Pick your horse... we're off to the World War III races. But, here's where you might get yourself in trouble. See... there are several things clouding the dabate. Perhaps we should clear them up before we continue.

First of all, a lot of people (read: Neo-Cons) are going to tell you that if you don't support Israel, you're a anti-semite. Let me just say that not only would the semantics police tell you that it's an improper use of the word anti-Semitic but it's also just flat-out not true. Just because you don't think that Israel has the right to bombard Lebanon willie-nilly doesn't mean that you hate the Jews.

Second; a lot of people are going to tell you that Iran is trying to fight a proxy war with the United States via Hezbollah. What? I'm confused already people, I mean, war? Proxy? Is this some kind of computer warfare? I'm pretty sure that Al Gore invented the internet, and last time I checked he was talking about global warming, not terrorism. Plus... who is Iran going to use all those "nuclear weapons" on if they take out the United States "via proxy"?

What can I say? Who really knows what's going to happen. This situation, as you probably guessed, is getting more complicated by the moment. With Bush and Blair shrugging at the idea of supporting a cease fire, and seeing as the "best" the U.S. can do is send-in Condeleeza Rice things certainly don't look as if they will be resolved on the wings of Western intervention. Who, then, will help the innocent Lebanese protect themselves against (another) Israeli occupation.

If have to ask myself, is Israeli occupation really what's best for Lebanon? Of course not. Now, ask yourself this: Is Hezbollah really a terrorist organization? While the West calls for disarming of all militias in Lebanon, is allowing Israeli invasion really the way to do it? Do we allow Lebanon to handle the crisis on their own?

The answer is complicated, but our response should not be a passive one. And, while UN peacekeeping doesn't have the best track record of late, it only seems a matter of time before a large enough majority of the international community call for intervention of some kind.

All I ask is that you Keep Informed, and QUESTION EVERYTHING.

Okay, so it's been a while, but this one is certainly worthy of a comeback for me.

I'm not going to sat much. Just go to this website and watch the video. You don't be disappointed.
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/07/13/king-fence/

So, in the midst of working on a paper for a history class about how we took this country from Indians, and made their lives a living hell, I remembered that I wanted to look at this video from the Colbert Report about the Minutemen: You can watch it here, or below.

I know that many of you are concerned about what 1150am (California) reported yesterday (25 May, 2006). 1150am reported that the first ammendment was under attack, and protestors were being quarintined into designated polling areas.

Here's just one example of what congress plans to do about it on Griper Blade.

According to Fox News, Rep. William Jefferson's office was raided on Saturday by the FBI to investigate allegations of corruption.

According to Wonkette the FBI has video of Jefferson receiving money from an unidentified man. This money is said to have been received in connection with favors for a Kentucky businessman. He then took the money and hid it in his freezer. WTF? Talk about cold hard cash! (I assume that paper has a freezing point, so it would eventually harden.)

But, what's more important here is that Dennis Hastert is defending Jefferson, saying that the FBI "took the wrong path" in investigating Jefferson. Okay, here's the thing, Hastert; why are you so quick to stand-up for a floundering, bribe-accepting politician? What's that? Oh... Hastert's under investigation now too, you say? That's interesting... I wonder what he's going to say. Maybe he'll say, that they've once again taken the wrong path and that "[the FBI] need(s) to back up, and we need to go from there."