busy days

the past ten days have swamped me. not that i don't live a relatively busy lifestyle. I have had quite a bit of reading and writing to do for school. I will post some of it soon. most of it, at this stage, has been creative. I have also been trying to figure out some basic graduation details (ie what to do come next may). but this is boring. the israelis (presumably) have killed a hamas leader in damascus. a serious rebuff to consistent syrian invitations to pursuing peace. maybe the syrians were never really interested, but it seems that all this US pressure on the "terrorist" syrian nation was enough of a green light to allow the israelis to get a move on in "fighting terrorism" internationally. although a pretty big deal to go all the way to damascus to fight the "terrorists" it will/would be bigger when/had they go somewhere like khartoum; or tehran. This article in haaretz explores the idea of how the israelis might have done this job in damascus. it's pretty good. note also that oil just hit $50... which is pretty ridiculous. i still don't understand why we are so into oil, and will continue to pay these ridiculous prices. wasn't the war in iraq supposed to help with this, wasn't the war in iraq just an extension of US energy policy? anyway, here we are with $50 oil. are there no other solutions? wind power, hybrid fuel cell cars, etc all seem to be available. jordan's king has claimed Iraqi elections cannot succeed in this climate of violence. no shit. iraqi "insurgents" are likely not interested in seeing the country return to stability. perhaps the bonds that keep this federal state together were rooted in the violence and extreme repression used by saddam hussein. maybe many iraq's are better than one... but i suppose as long as treaties are sorted out in board rooms in the west, the east will always pay the price of misunderstanding and mismanagement. why are there so many straight lines in the middle east? today a cnn journalist was kidnapped in gaza. kidnapping is a highly effective tactic in guerilla warfare. i bet, if the palestinian militant groups are smart, they will pour their resources into kidnapping and rocketry. (how many suicide bombings in the psat six months? where is that money going now? can a big fence stop a rocket?) that's enough from me... see you next time...

This sumamry of news items from Israel-Palestine over the past week demonstrates why I argue that divisions and tensions among Israelis/Jews is reaching fever pitch. It seems that the disengagement will actually go through starting in early 2005, and this could lead to a major devolution on both sides of the green line. we've all heard quite a bit about the already fragile state of affairs in Palestinian areas, and the jockeying for power is gearing up. it was homecoming weekend at Mount Allison University this weekend. i believe we lost to Acadia University. despite the rain, the partying was heavy enough and a good time all around. leaving today as a perfect day to curl up and read a couple hundred pages of Faulkner.

widening gap between people and extremists

This editorial is but an example of the spread of open and harsh criticism directed at jewish settlers in the west bank and gaza strip, more and more by other israelis. the land between the jordan river and the sea is being controlled by a more fragmented administration than ever. indeed the emerging splits on both the israeli and palestinian sides are frighteningly reminiscent of the way columbia's civil war has devolved in warlording and guerilla fighting among three dominant groups. israel is dangerously close to giving way to the extremist settler movement who are violent and aggressive, just as the PA's weaknesses will give way to those that filled their shoes in providing services to a disenfranchised population. extremists will always win through marginalization, because on the margins there are no rules. jean baudrillard speaks on this in regard to French extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen. let's hope that the rise of extremism isn't met with our own "democratic" brand.

beasties at msg

i scored some tickets to see the beastie boys rocking madison square garden oct 9th. the countdown begins! i can't wait to enjoy the show...

"terrorism" and the media

the past few weeks have been sadly filled with tragedies stemming from guerilla attacks around the world. we had the two russian aircraft, the bombing at a moscow subway station yesterday, the double bus bombing in be'ersheva in southern israel yesterday, this morning's major hostage taking near chechnya, last week's grenade attack in bangladesh, last week's bus bombing in northern india, the roadside bomb that struck bogota a few days ago, not to mention the countless incidents of violence in Iraq. and that's all i can think of in recent memory. remarkably the olympics weren't attacked, and considering the number of attacks tht occurred on non-military targets, I am somewhat surprised. perhaps what i have found so shocking is how difficult it is to get information on particular tragedies. visit this site and you'll find no reference to either of yesterday's suicide attacks in moscow or be'ersheva. However, on this site you'll find only cursory reference to the traedies in Russia, and certainly no mention of any of the other earlier attacks. Visit a more western site and you'll see that mention of terror is only in relation to the presidential race and the republican national convention, where Arnold Schwarznegger professed his love for America in a seriously bad speech. Even the New York Times barely mentions all the terror we've seen this week in favour of the RNC. They do, however, bother to report on the fact that 900 people have been arrested during anti-Bush protests in the city this week so far; and W hasn't even arrived yet. Other interesting things I found in the news include an interesting yarn about the lack of Israeli recognition of their occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Curiously, if you listen to Sharon's pro-disengagement speeches and what his allies on the gaza pullout have been saying, occupation is specifically the term they use. certainly, the article draws important attention to the role that rhetoric and language play in helping to shape the conflict, but more than anything, it is actual action towards peace that will define one as a peacemaker or not. That is not to say that Israelis or Palestinians have to prove themselves interested in peace; I think we can take that as the default position of most people. As in, most folks want to live peacefully. But it is true that both parties want the other to prove their peacemaking intentions; and as far as that goes Yasser Arafat and Ariel Sharon have both floundered. The former has refused to reform his security services, despite heavy int'l pressure and refuses to have elections, last held 8 yrs ago. He has also refused to let his cabinet be a cabinet and do things for the palestinian people. Sharon meanwhile refuses to actually dismantle illegal outposts, particularly in the hebron region which may have been part of the rationalization for yesterday's attacks. Sharon also can't stand up for himself to his own party, where he faces serious threats from within. so in the end, hopes for peace are rather limited today.