Meanwhile, in less important news, Israel continues it's batshit crazy attack on Lebanon. Surfing the internet is kind of frustrating here at PPD, as the computers are ancient and slow, and people are always waiting to get on them. But I have little else to do, and I have been meaning to write an entry on this subject since the conflict began, so here's what I got right now:
To start with a positive note in an otherwise completely negative and ugly thing, I've found that there has been a very strong dialogue between citizens of Israel and Lebanon, through the blogosphere and bulletin boards, forums, etc. This is pretty fascinating to me, and unprecedented in human history that during a war the two sides involved are able to communicate with each other directly, ignoring the media outlets that have previously been the sole means of exchanging information. I think this sheds a small light of hope on future generations being able to work through these age-old problems a little better, because they grew up in this information age and are better equipped to communicate.
Looking through some blogs, I found an interesting point of view at The Lebanese Bloggers. I only had time to read the first few entries, so I can't vouch for the entire thing, but most of it seemed fairly rational (as opposed to fanatical). They make a great case for Lebanon having been sold out by the US in one post by pointing out that Bush's idea of a "solution" (at least the official one, without the cuss words) contains no mention of Lebanon: "In order to be able to deal with this crisis, the world must deal with Hezbollah, with Syria and to continue to work to isolate Iran."
They also had a transcript of Prime Minister Seniora's impassioned speech to the parliament, which is definitely worth reading:
...Is the value of human life in Lebanon less than that of the citizens of other countries?
Can the international community stand by while such callous retribution by the State of Israel is inflicted on us?
Will you allow innocent civilians, churches, mosques, orphanages, medical supplies escorted by the Red Cross, people seeking shelter or fleeing their homes and villages to be the casualties of this ugly war?
Is this what the international community calls self defense? Is this the price we pay for aspiring to build our democratic institutions? Is this the message to send to the country of diversity, freedom and tolerance?
Only last year, the Lebanese filled the streets with hope and with red, green and white banners shouting out: Lebanon deserves life!
What kind of life is being offered to us now?
I will tell you what kind: a life of destruction, despair, displacement, dispossession, and death.
What kind of future can stem from the rubble? A future of fear, frustration, financial ruin, and fanaticism.
Let me assure you that we shall spare no avenue to make Israel compensate the Lebanese people for the barbaric destruction it has inflicted and continues to inflict upon us, knowing full well that human life is irreplaceable.
You want to support the government of Lebanon? Let me tell you, ladies and gentlemen, no government can survive on the ruins of a nation.
People aren't just exchanging words, on Flickr you can find plenty of images and discussion about the war. Be warned, some of the pictures are pretty horrible.
My stance on this whole issue is not entirely anti-Israel; I understand and support their desire to feel safe from Hezbollah. But I don't understand at all how any Zionist could possibly rationalize the killing of so many innocent Lebanese civilians to achieve this. Such fanatacism on both sides, it makes me sick. And all of it in the name of God. Additionally, it seems as if Israel's air war might have been pointless for the most part. As another blogger pointed out, it is hard to justify support for Israel when an eye for an eye is raised by 2 orders of magnitude; For 1 Israeli eye, 50-100 arab eyes + 10 bridges + 3 airports are required in exchange.
I don't have time right now, but I'm hoping to find examples of Israeli citizens showing dissent for the actions of their government. If you know of any let me know.
Also...what the hell happened to the Palestinian front of this "war"? I haven't heard a thing about it in the news since Israel turned on Lebanon. It always frustrates me when the press jumps on one main story, makes some fancy "Crisis in the Middle East!!" graphics, and no longer feels the need to report on anything else for a week or two.
Oh, except for that sweet shot Tiger Woods made in the British Open. He's Back!!
Seriously though, they cut from Anderson Cooper in Beirut to talk about TW. The female anchor made a lame little female anchor joke about it and then goes "back to you Anderson...". The pained look on Anderson's face, who had just gotten back from bombed out Hezbollah territory, was priceless. I like that guy. He's got some serious juevos. As he was driving into the Hezbollah controlled area, you see a swarm of armed cars come out of nowhere. He says "Well, I guess we have an official escort now."
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