My wife’s words as she was reading about the attacks in India. She normally fills out applications by checking the “caucasian” option when asked, but it doesn’t always seem right to her. (Jana wanted me to correct this. She actually checks “other.”)
Some of the victims were targeted because they were Jewish. I’m not in her shoes, but I imagine it’s hard not to take it personally. Whatever the politics. Whatever the arguments. Whatever the excuses. The bottom line is that they were killed because they were Jewish.
Synchronicity. I’m glad I’m on WordPress. Sorry.
The photo of now deceased Rabbi Gabriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, used by the Jerusalem Post in the article through the link above, comes courtesy of AP.
Addendum: This Kos poster has photos of Mumbai from happier times.
Second addendum: For those of you interested, Stephen is posting a few of the posts he would have posted here over at his own blog.
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November 29, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Rose
You’ll want to read this from Irshad Manji – Inside India: Graver than the news
Here’s a brief dateline…:
Jan 1, 08: Terrorist attack in UP state kills 7.
Feb 28, 08: Bomb blasts inside Hindu right-wing RSS office and a bus stand in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu. RSS blames Muslims, but the police suspect the RSS itself responsible for both.
May 13, 08: 80 persons are killed in serial bomb blasts in Jaipur city, Rajasthan.
June 4, 08: 7 persons injured in a bomb blast in Thane city, adjacent to Mumbai.
July 25, 08: Eight low intensity bombs explode in Bangalore city, Karnataka. One person is killed.
July 26, 08: 17 bomb blasts in Ahmedabad city (Gujarat) that kills 53 and injures many more. An even larger number of bombs placed throughout Surat city (Gujarat) fail to blast and are defused.
Aug 28, 08: Two Bajrang Dal activists (Hindu extremist outfit) killed in an accidental blast in one of their homes.
Sept 13, 08: Five blasts in Delhi kill 24 persons.
Sept 27, 08: A single blast in Delhi kills 3 persons.
Sept 29, 08: 3 persons killed and several injured in bomb blasts in a Muslim locality in Malegaon in Maharashtra. On the same day, a single blast in Modasa, Gujara kills 2 persons.
Oct 14, 08: 7 persons injured in bomb blasts in Kanpur, in Upstate.
Oct 30, 08: Serial bomb blasts across several cities of Assam, within minutes of each other, kills 67.
If that is not bad enough, for five weeks running, Christians were targeted once again in the states of Orissa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, prompting international outrage and statements of concern from the Pope, Archbishop of Canterbury and the French President (during his meeting with the Indian Prime Minister, among others).
In this carnival of violence, a nun (sworn to life-long celibacy) was raped while the police watched, churches were desecrated or destroyed, over 40 persons killed. In Orissa at one point, over 50,000 Christians fled their homes to seek shelter in refugee camps.
In-between, 8 members of a Muslim family, including a 3-year-old child, were burnt alive in Adilabad, Andhra Pradesh, not to mention communal violence targeting Muslims in five different parts of Maharashtra during the year.
In the midst of all this, a breakaway group of the Hindu right-wing Shiv Sena in Maharashtra went on a rampage targeting north Indians living and working in the state. Tens of thousands of north Indians fled the cities in Maharashtra in fear of their lives. Even as I write this message, ministers from north India and Maharashta in the Union government are at daggers drawn, speaking up for their respective constituencies. The PM does not quite know what to do.
Until the Thane and Malegaon blast on Sept 29, it was widely assumed by the investigation agencies and the media that Muslim extremists within India, with support from terrorist outfits in Pakistan and Bangladesh, were behind all the targeting of innocents.
But in the last few months, investigations by the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra police have unearthed the existence of “Hindu bombs” and “Hindu terrorists.” In the last two weeks, the country has been agog as the ATS officials have gone around arresting serving and retired military men, along with a Hindu god-man (sadhu) and a god-woman (sadhvi), for their role in the Malegaon, Thane and other blast incidents in Maharashtra.
In fact, there is convincing evidence of extremist Hindu outfits being involved in terrorist acts since 2003. The investigating agencies are now working backwards and nobody is sure of whether it was a Muslim or a Hindu extremist group in this or that bomb blast in different parts of the country during 2008, as also in earlier years.
The only thing that is certain for now is that we have both brands of terror groups in India today: Muslim and Hindu. Talk of democracy, tolerance, rule of law!
There’s more of course, from many sources.
November 29, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Indie
The U.S. “declared war on terror”; If only we hadn’t then proceeded to use up all our resources finishing the Bush family oil-vendetta war in Iraq first. Perhaps there would be some resources and fighting spirit left over to help people in the rest of the world to catch all sorts of extremist criminals. Instead we’ve wasted six years and billions of dollars without even catching the terrorist who hurt our own citizens on our own soil.
Appalling things have been done in the name of religion for time out of mind. It’s a longstanding, worldwide human tradition.
November 30, 2008 at 1:08 am
Anonymous
So is it official, Stephen Lewis is banned for life and Eric uses this tragedy to make some snide remark alluding to his cowardice?
And yes, my comment on the other thread is tied to this attack. Obama’s threats against Pakistan do have a motivational connection to extremist groups in that country (or its occupied territory of Kashmir) lashing out against Western targets, whether Jew or Gentile.
And weren’t they asking for British and American passport holders specifically, not Israeli by nationality?
November 30, 2008 at 8:45 am
Eric Kirk
Odd that you already had an approved post and had to have another approved. After the first one, you should have been able to post directly. I’ll have to look into that.
As to the point about Stephen, I’ve already explained why I can’t have him post here. I’m not going into it again. I’ve given him plenty of opportunities to tone down his comments about Jews. I’m done.
November 30, 2008 at 9:21 am
Kym
Eric, check and see if they posted a) from another computer b) with a slight change in the way they identify themselves. Both of those will trigger the need for an approved post.
November 30, 2008 at 9:48 am
Lefty
I, too, am glad that I don’t have to listen to an antisemitic rant over this tragedy.
While reports from India say that they were targeting American and British citizens you can be certain that Jews were the target at the Chabad house.
Anon 1:08 calls it cowardice to ban the likes of Lewis. Why one should be accused of cowardice because he doesn’t want to be inundated with posts from a seemingly crazed individual is amazing to me. As the man has said repeatedly, start your own blog and he will give it a big sendoff. Then you can post to your hearts content and ban or not ban anyone “You” want to.
Everyone deserves the opportunity to have their voices heard, but not on their terms exclusively and not on another persons blog. If you have something interesting to say people will flock there. Judging by the comments on some peoples blogs they can’t draw a crowd so they come over here and ride on Eric’s coat tails.
November 30, 2008 at 10:13 am
Eric Kirk
Thank Kym.
I forgot to respond to another point. The couple in the photo were murdered in an attack on a Jewish community center called “Chabad House.” They were Americans, not Israelis. I don’t know anything about the other 5 Jews reported killed. (Update – at the Chabad House, 4 dead were Israelis. The victims were tied up then subsequently executed. According to a report on the radio, the American couple’s 2 year old child was about to celebrate his birthday. He will instead be attending his parents’ funeral.)
As for blaming the attacks on Obama, I’ll say the same thing I said about Rush blaming the recession on him. He’s not in power yet. Come January 19, you can blame original sin on him if you like.
Rose I think is trying to make the point that these attacks in north east India are frequent, and she’s right. A lot of it has to do with the dispute over Kashmir. There have also been attacks by Hindu extremists. This attack against everyone Jewish and with an American, British, or Canadian passport, was intended to draw some international intention. And to the degree that it showed India’s police to be completely hapless, it succeeded. I understand that the Minister of Security has resigned.
November 30, 2008 at 11:37 am
noramae
Although some Americans, Israelis and Jews were targeted, the majority of victims were Indian. The terrorists wanted to kill as many people as possible. Hard for me to imagine that mind set.
November 30, 2008 at 11:44 am
Eric Kirk
Certainly. It wasn’t my intent to minimize other victims. I was just remarking on the fact that there are people out there who would kill my wife simply because she is Jewish. Chabad House was a specificly planned target. If the same people could get to a B’Nai Ha’Arretz gathering in Garberville to kill them, they would do it. It’s a little disconcerting when it hits home.
November 30, 2008 at 12:12 pm
mresquan
“As for blaming the attacks on Obama,”
Obama’s comments about going to war with Pakistan,and the need to send more troops into Afghanistan and continue to fight the “war on terror” certainly don’t help.And I’d say that his comments about Pakistan are equally as hawkish about Bush’s prior to going into Afghanistan and then invading (well we’ve been there for quite some time,so it really wasn’t a new invasion) Iraq,to take on the terrorists.
November 30, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Nick Bravo
disturbing how so many think hatred and violence are cornered by one specific group, race, culture, etc.
There are people who would kill anyone for any reason,.
Let’s be even more intellectually honest shall we? The mentality that when someone of a specific group is being attacked the whole group is being attacked is laughable. I may do a youtube video in regards to this concept.
November 30, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Nick Bravo
I’ll add that all three abrahamic religions have violence as their focal point in regards to god and the world. This includes Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Whereas if you read the Hindu scriptures there is a great deal of beneficial science and history within the pages, also it has been proven many times that Hinduism is far more tolerant of other religious beliefs than the abrahamic traditions are.
Not saying Hinduism is perfect, but it certainly is far above the Abrahamic traditions.
November 30, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Nick Bravo
I also feel the title of this blog is nothing more than an insincere attempt to puff up your own ego by glorying in the supposed victim status of many people in this country.
Yes, its a tragedy that people are at times attacked due to race, religion, culture, etc. However, it does not make that entire group a victim simply because one member was attacked. If another white male gets mugged it isn’t me who feels humiliated. If another white male gets beaten it isn’t me who feels the pain. Pain can only be felt by individuals. I know clinton popularized the concept of shared pain “I feel yer paiiiiiiiiin”, yet intellectual honesty easily proves that the concept of shared pain and adopted pain is a farce.
You are not black Eric, nor are you a victim. You are a priveleged white male with a prestigious career and posess many other benefits that many people, including those of your own race, gender, nationality, etc do not have.
November 30, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Ernie's Place (Branscomb)
Anyone who expresses an opinion, or is in a position of power or control, or is in a group of people with power and control is going to be hated. I don’t like it, but that is human nature.
A good example would be a lawyer. One would think that they would be held in the highest regard because they defend people that can’t defend themselves. But, quite the opposite is true. I would imagine that a hard part of being a lawyer is the lack of respect that is displayed by human nature. So Eric, your wife can feel sorry for you also. You are not given the respect that you so richly deserve.
I don’t see peace on earth and goodwill toward man ever happening. I’m sorry, but I don’t see any of the terrorism as being religion based, or racial based, but simply human nature based. Some people will pick on any group of people for any reason. The only thing that will stop terrorism is respect.
Two nuclear weapons dropped on Japan gained the United States Instant respect. Note: respect does not necessarily mean love, it can be hate, or it can be fear. But, respect means that one knows that if they do something that is not allowed, there will be instant justice.
Just as a child depends on, and learns more, from a parent that has their respect. A parent that just wants be friends and get along with their child will not be a successful parent. Appeasement never works.
The whole world needs to join in the fight against terror.
I hope Obama has the courage to pass this test. If he doesn’t, we can look forward to a great lack of respect and rampant terror.
November 30, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Eric Kirk
Nick, firt of all, the title contains quotation marks. Do you know what those mean?
Secondly, the terrorists went out of their way to attack a Jewish Community Center. Not a shrine. Not a church. The only institutional face of Judaism in the area. Yes, everybody might be attacked by some people. But some people go out of their way to attack certain groups. It might not be a comfortable fact for a white male from the midwest to deal with, but the reality is what it is.
November 30, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Eric Kirk
Ernie – one thing that has the terror groups freaking out is that many Muslims have softened their hatred for the US since he was elected. The fact that he was elected with a name like his has to have made an impression on some of them. Hence the Al Qaida “house negro” comment borrowed from Malcolm X. Obama does have to respond to attacks like this, sometimes with force. But hopefully he’ll take a regional approach, which brings more support from Muslim governments who have held back so far. Kerry had discussed the formation of a Pan-Arabic peace keeping force for mid east hotspots. I hope Obama pursues something like that. The problem can be more effectively addressed as an international criminal problem, rather than something such as a “war on terror” which only elevates their status.
November 30, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Lodgepole
I don’t know Eric…I’ve thought about your wife’s quote a bit and it just doesn’t seem to jive. It seems like a stretch for some gratuitous self pity, IMO, and possibly offensive to black people. I’ll leave it at that.
November 30, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Anonymous
Nick Bravo manages to make some good points here, and his own experience of getting beaten up by the cops in so-called liberal Arcata for the crime of being homeless does give him something to say about how even “white males from the midwest” get bigotry if they happen to be poor or gay or just different. How nice of Eric Kirk to be so condescending towards someone with such a different set of experiences in his life, kind of an example of reverse racism based on white guilt, wouldn’t you say?
It’s pretty sad to see Eric whine about how Obama’s words have no power, after his fellow neoliberals have been busy anointing him as “the One” and “the Savior” for the last few weeks. Even that shameless DNC hack Rachel Maddow has been crowing about how “power has been ebbing” from Bush and to Obama in this lame duck phase, so to claim Obama’s threats to resume unauthorized arial slaughters of Pakistani civilians and more have real meaning to the people dying over there.
But as usual, Eric Kirk could care less about the victims if the Democrats are the ones pulling the trigger, as they have for the last two years of a Democrat Congress funding the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Muslims in the name of prosecuting these racist wars.
I can’t wait until Obama starts drafting your kids for the next war, you deluded Dems will sure be sqealing your thanks to the Saviorbama.
November 30, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Anonymous
That should have read “To claim that Obama’s threats to resume unauthorized arial slaughters of Pakistani civilians, and more, have no real meaning to the people dying over there is intentionally misleading.”
November 30, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Eric Kirk
lodgepole – Wow! Self-pity. Hmmmm. As to black people being offended, well, I’ll let them speak for themselves. It was a gut reaction to a photo of two people who might just as well have been a cousins of hers she was raised with.
Thing is, my wife rarely even brings up the fact that she is Jewish. But she’s reminded now for sure.
Anonymous, you might want to look up the term “neoliberal.” Just saying.
November 30, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Anonymous
Yeah, pro-“humanitarian war” like your big hero Clinton in Kosovo, or Obama’s latest pick Samantha Power who’s been beating the jingoistic drum for years to invade Sudan, that’s what a neoliberal is on foreign policy — not to mention being an apologist for the racist settlers destroying the Palestinian people, but I don’t want to go further into that for risk of suffering the same ban Steve Lewis gets.
You’ve been sold a bill of goods Eric, Obama is no FDR, at best he’ll be an LBJ, selling some socioeconimc progress on the homefront for bloodshed and war and the deaths of millions abroad. Hope it’s worth the trade for you Dems who say you’re so peaceful and all.
November 30, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Anonymous
And my comments are getting these bullshit delays, for hours or days, Heraldo-style. Welcome to WordPress, or should I say Supress?
November 30, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Anonymous
I’m starting to wonder if comments are getting delayed if they have the word “Palestinian” or “Israel” in them. That’d be pretty telling.
November 30, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Anonymous
Guess not. Maybe WordPress is simply an inferior provider of technology. What a perfect home for these Luddites like Heraldo and Eric.
November 30, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Eric Kirk
I don’t have anything to do with that.
November 30, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Anonymous
One of my comments still isn’t showing up, over an hour later. Face it Eric, this is fucked. Google is simply more reliable.
November 30, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Moviedad
Talking about the pros and cons of hunting with my 13yr old, I got to thinking about the two distinct “Ways of Man,” the farmer vs the hunter. Hunting is quick, the payoff for the amount of energy spent is high. The farmer has to take the long view, the payoff for the energy is not instantly evident. Killing is easy, growing your food is hard.
So I’m wondering if these two ways really did form two separate types of human beings. The life affirming, the grower. And the life taker, the hunter.
One represents a view of human life as symbiotic with the world. the other that life is only lived through taking. And I think that plays out in taking resources as well.
So what I’m pondering is that those who kill the innocent to achieve their goals. are telling themselves the same thing the Prehistoric hunter told himself. it is necessary for survival. These humans do not want to do the work of ‘farming’ a settlement to their grievances. they want the instant payoff of killing the grievance.
November 30, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Rose
I’m not getting the “black” comment either, Eric….
But I am curious what the response it to the description of events by the Terrorist they caught –
Azam Amir Kasav – some reports have his name as Ajmal Amir Kasab – confessed that part of the plot called for him and his fellow terrorists to carry out a replay of the destruction of Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel, in targeting Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Hotel.
First, they “came across an Indian-owned trawler, Kuber, which they boarded. They killed four of the fishermen onboard, dumped their bodies into the sea, and forced its skipper Amarjit Singh to sail for India….The next day, they beheaded the skipper, and one of the gunmen, a trained sailor, took the wheel and headed for the shores of Gujarat, India….Near Gujarat, the terrorists raised a white flag as two officers of the coast guard approached…. one of the terrorists grappled with one of them, slit his throat and threw his body into the boat…Four nautical miles out, they were met by three inflatable speedboats. They killed the other coast guard officer, transferred into the speedboats and proceeded to Colaba jetty as dusk settled……Then the carnage started.
Time after time after time after time these kinds of things happen and what do the people say in the comments – BUSH! Halliburton! Blah, blah, blah.
How ’bout some rage at the people who slit other people’s throats.
November 30, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Not A Native
Unless the perps behind this justify their actions, we can only speculate what their motives are. Clearly, the Pakistan/India conflicts haven’t been resolved at the social level so someone “unhappy” with the compromises that the Pakistan Government has made with India would have a reason to do these attacks as a means to delegitimize those agreements.
In that regard, attacking a Jewish center would be a way to solidify the impression that the goal is nationalism to expunge “imperialistic elements” for which Israeli sympathizers serve as a vulnerable proxy. I wouldn’t call that “antisemitic” because its not about religion. It is anti-Israel and anti-Western.
To me, antisemitism is hatred due to religious theology. Like prejudice against Jews as “Christ killers” or “Money Lenders” or “Refusing to acknowledge Jesus” or “Claimants to being uniquely blessed by God “.
November 30, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Anonymous
Bullshit.
November 30, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Anonymous
O B S E S S E D the many-headed hydra of hatred Heraldo is with suppressing any dissent. Woe be to Eric for going any further down his dark and eventually futile path.
November 30, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Lodgepole
Eric, my sincere apologies if I offended you, or especially, your wife. I don’t know what it’s like to be Jewish, and my choice of words may have been too strong.
This is more like it: Eric’s Wife “In moments like this I feel like I’m black.”
Lodgepole: “You know, I don’t think so. Honestly, you probably don’t know any more what it’s like to be black than I do what it’s like to be Jewish. Let’s chill on the rhetoric and focus on our positive future together.”
November 30, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Rose
Hey, Eric, you can delete the duplicate posting above. :)
Here’s another interesting perspective…
In the Wake of Mumbai: An Agnostic Jew Considers Chabad
November 30, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Jewish Person
Well, you don’t need S. Lewis to bring out the vilest anti-semitism in this group. What a heartless bunch of bastards you have here, Eric.
My sympathies to your wife. She’s certainly not alone with such dark thoughts.
November 30, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Heraldo
Yeah, Eric. Now your blog is a big old lovefest just like mine. Kumbaya brother.
November 30, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Anonymous
Well Heraldo, more comments are getting deleted or “lost” or “mysteriously disappeared” or whatever Eric’s excuse is for my 2 permanently missing comments just today.
In Heraldo’s Orwellian calculations: Censorship = Lovefest
I wouldn’t go so far as to say Work = Freedom though, since Heraldo’s extremist policies are directed at perpetuating and expanding the ranks of the unemployed in the county.
November 30, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Heraldo
Yes, just look at the comments here and at the Humboldt Herald. We all agree, there’s no dissension, and progressives rule the world. Isn’t it great?
November 30, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Anonymous
Unemployment is rising. Taxpayer funds were wasted fighting Measure T in federal court. Nothing is getting built in or anywhere near Old Town save a furniture store across the street from a now-closed pizza shop. Division is being promoted as “unity” and Cobb is making money off of it. In other words, you’re getting almost exactly the Humboldt County you want, Heraldo.
And Eric, I’m starting to have to save my comments I post here, just like on Heraldo, to make sure it’s traced which ones happen to vanish, and when. The “why” part, I’m already clear on.
November 30, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Ernie's Place (Branscomb)
While I don’t know what it is like to be Black or Jewish, I know what it is like to be caused to wonder what it must feel like to be discriminated against for being so.
As an “up and coming” young refrigeration contractor, I had a top notch crew that was quite capable, and willing to work out of town. We started bidding jobs out of town and fully expected to get some of those jobs. Much to our surprise we found that we were not being awarded those jobs. We felt that we were capable and we had bid in the ball-park or lower than other contractors had. Needless to say, my crew and I were disappointed, and were caused to wonder why we weren’t getting jobs. I questioned a few of the general contractors that we bid with, and most of them were honest. They said that they had their favorite subs that they liked working with. That we were from out of town and probably wouldn’t be used for any of their jobs, but they were required by law to invite bids.
We tried break-even bids to try to prove our worth. We got some jobs but as soon as we bid enough to make any money they went back to their “Good old boys”. I wondered at the time what I would have felt if I had been Black, and wondered if I would have thought that not getting the jobs was racially inspired. At the time I think that I would have had a better chance of getting the jobs if I had been black.
But… Water under the bridge. On occasion I have been the “Good old boy”, where I was awarded the job no matter what the bid. So, I guess life sucks unless you are the good old boy. No matter what minority you are.
November 30, 2008 at 10:21 pm
M.
well,i am black,and i learned at a very early age Not to be a victim,if anyone wants to deny me because of skin color,i learned to find my own way..piss on them,,that being said,it is human condition to not trust anyone different..too bad,because in the long run,we are either a part of the problemor the solution
November 30, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Eric Kirk
In that regard, attacking a Jewish center would be a way to solidify the impression that the goal is nationalism to expunge “imperialistic elements” for which Israeli sympathizers serve as a vulnerable proxy. I wouldn’t call that “antisemitic” because its not about religion. It is anti-Israel and anti-Western.
To me, antisemitism is hatred due to religious theology. Like prejudice against Jews as “Christ killers” or “Money Lenders” or “Refusing to acknowledge Jesus” or “Claimants to being uniquely blessed by God “.
It may have begun as an anti-imperialist and specifically anti-Zionist sentiment. It may have been that way 50 years ago. It’s evolved as the resistance to Israel has made contact with certain European and US elements. Hence the presence of David Duke at the Holocaust denial conference in Iran last year.
November 30, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Eric Kirk
Lodgepole – no worries. I understand where you’re coming from.
November 30, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Eric Kirk
Well Heraldo, more comments are getting deleted or “lost” or “mysteriously disappeared” or whatever Eric’s excuse is for my 2 permanently missing comments just today.
I haven’t removed any posts. If you give me an approximate time your missing posts were submitted, I’ll check the log to see if I can find them. There are posts which I have not allowed to pass, but I can assure you they were not yours.
November 30, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Eric Kirk
Rose – Done. And in doing so I discovered a function I don’t like, which is that the format allows me to edit posts made by other people. A malicious blog owner could put words into people’s mouths. We should have the power to delete, but not to revise.
November 30, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Eric Kirk
well,i am black,and i learned at a very early age Not to be a victim,if anyone wants to deny me because of skin color,i learned to find my own way..piss on them,,that being said,it is human condition to not trust anyone different..too bad,because in the long run,we are either a part of the problemor the solution
No argument. I should let you know that my wife is more critical of Israel than I. To the extent that excesses in Israeli policies have brought violence on individual Jews, I assure you she’s quite frustrated about the situation. But Israeli policy doesn’t mitigate these acts in any way.
November 30, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Eric Kirk
Okay, to the anonymous poster missing the posts, I may have found one of them. Is it possible that you submitted it on a different computer? Anyway, I only found one which was marked waiting for approval. If you give me the times, and maybe the first sentence, I’ll see if they’re in there marked “approved.”
November 30, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Anonymous
Here’s the missing post that suddenly appeared:
“Yeah, pro-”humanitarian war” like your big hero Clinton in Kosovo, or Obama’s latest pick Samantha Power who’s been beating the jingoistic drum for years to invade Sudan, that’s what a neoliberal is on foreign policy — not to mention being an apologist for the racist settlers destroying the Palestinian people, but I don’t want to go further into that for risk of suffering the same ban Steve Lewis gets.
You’ve been sold a bill of goods Eric, Obama is no FDR, at best he’ll be an LBJ, selling some socioeconimc progress on the homefront for bloodshed and war and the deaths of millions abroad. Hope it’s worth the trade for you Dems who say you’re so peaceful and all.”
November 30, 2008 at 11:58 pm
Eric Kirk
It appeared because I found it in the log and “approved” it. I don’t know why it didn’t go through since I had already approved one of your posts.
December 1, 2008 at 12:20 am
Nick Bravo
Heraldo should watch his tongue. He’s forgetting that the only reason everyone agrees on his blog is that he censors dissenting opinion. While walking through arcata it reminded me of 1960’s berekley, at other times it reminded me of 1900 Russia with its grey, bleak, horror of bread lines and contradictions in which the elites lived fat and happy and oasting prosperity whilst the workers begged for breadn and lived a life of monotonous misery and horror.
December 1, 2008 at 12:22 am
Nick Bravo
Heraldo= russian communist, italian facist. Take the hint Eric! Heraldo is one of those examples of what NOT to be like!
December 1, 2008 at 12:26 am
Nick Bravo
“First, they “came across an Indian-owned trawler, Kuber, which they boarded. They killed four of the fishermen onboard, dumped their bodies into the sea, and forced its skipper Amarjit Singh to sail for India….The next day, they beheaded the skipper, and one of the gunmen, a trained sailor, took the wheel and headed for the shores of Gujarat, India….Near Gujarat, the terrorists raised a white flag as two officers of the coast guard approached…. one of the terrorists grappled with one of them, slit his throat and threw his body into the boat…Four nautical miles out, they were met by three inflatable speedboats. They killed the other coast guard officer, transferred into the speedboats and proceeded to Colaba jetty as dusk settled……Then the carnage started.
Time after time after time after time these kinds of things happen and what do the people say in the comments – BUSH! Halliburton! Blah, blah, blah.
How ’bout some rage at the people who slit other people’s throats.”
But Rose! All the terrorists are loving peaceful people who are FORCED todo these things out of fear of the evil bush/cheyney/rove trifecta. They obviously don’t know obama has been elected and will roll over on his back for them and their PEACEFUL intents!
*chuckle*
December 1, 2008 at 12:26 am
Nick Bravo
“First, they “came across an Indian-owned trawler, Kuber, which they boarded. They killed four of the fishermen onboard, dumped their bodies into the sea, and forced its skipper Amarjit Singh to sail for India….The next day, they beheaded the skipper, and one of the gunmen, a trained sailor, took the wheel and headed for the shores of Gujarat, India….Near Gujarat, the terrorists raised a white flag as two officers of the coast guard approached…. one of the terrorists grappled with one of them, slit his throat and threw his body into the boat…Four nautical miles out, they were met by three inflatable speedboats. They killed the other coast guard officer, transferred into the speedboats and proceeded to Colaba jetty as dusk settled……Then the carnage started.
Time after time after time after time these kinds of things happen and what do the people say in the comments – BUSH! Halliburton! Blah, blah, blah.
How ’bout some rage at the people who slit other people’s throats.”
But Rose! All the terrorists are loving peaceful people who are FORCED todo these things out of fear of the evil bush/cheyney/rove trifecta. They obviously don’t know obama has been elected and will roll over on his back for them and their PEACEFUL intents!
*chuckle*
December 1, 2008 at 10:07 am
Heraldo
Obviously Nick has stopped reading my blog. I must be doing something right.
December 1, 2008 at 11:06 am
anon
Bush: My Biggest Regret Was Failure Of Iraq Intelligence
By Greg Sargent – December 1, 2008, 12:32PM
As if right on cue, Barack Obama’s successful national security presser today, in which he declared that the “buck stops with me” and took full responsibility for his presidency’s vision, is cast in an even more positive light by the deeply pathetic interview that his predecessor just gave to ABC News.
In the interview, which was conduced by Charlie Gibson, George W. Bush evades responsibility for his catastrophic foreign policies to the last, saying that his greatest regret was over something that he allegedly didn’t control — the intel failure in Iraq:
BUSH: I don’t know — the biggest regret of all the presidency has to have been the intelligence failure in Iraq. A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein. It wasn’t just people in my administration; a lot of members in Congress, prior to my arrival in Washington D.C., during the debate on Iraq, a lot of leaders of nations around the world were all looking at the same intelligence. And, you know, that’s not a do-over, but I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess.
Of course, Bush made the decision to overlook all the good intel — not to mention the claims of those poor forgotten inspectors — saying that Saddam wasn’t really a threat at all, or certainly not one requiring the response Bush himself ordered.
One overlooked thing about this is that not only Bush, but many supporters of the war — Dems and liberal hawks included — also have a vested interest in pretending that the good intel never existed and those inspectors never said what they said. Those inconvenient historical facts reflect rather badly on them, too. With so many opinion-makers having vested interests of their own in telling the story this way, history has been tidily rewritten, and Bush is able to make this claim without a peep of objection from his big-time network interviewer.
In other news from the interview, Bush conceded that he was “unprepared for war,” though he meant it more by way of saying that he hadn’t asked for war. No follow-up from his interviewer about the war of choice Bush started, or the fact that the self-described role of “war president” wasn’t one Bush was all that adverse to adopting.
December 1, 2008 at 11:33 am
Nick Bravo
Heraldo, you blocked me and several other people thus showing that you don’t want discussion of ideas, just parroting of dogma.
moviedad, you have obviously never been hunting. Various methods are needed for various animals. Not much meat on a rabbit or bird. As far as deer, moose, etc those things are difficult to catch, and much time and energy is expended in doing so.
The ancients used farming and hunting alongside each other. The hunter would often trade rabbit or fowl for potatoes and flour, and vice versa.
Soon man started domesticating certain animals such as rabbit, pig, sheep, etc. In this way the tribe didn’t have to send out hunting parties each day, people could stick closer to the tribe and find other things to do such as create philosophy, science, and politics.
We by our nature are still a hunting species, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s perfectly natural. I challenge moviedad and the other non-hunters here to take a class on hunting, better yet….go into the woods and try to catch something and have the mindset that if you don’t catch something you are going to go hungry that day.
December 1, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Jewish but not angry
Well, you don’t need S. Lewis to bring out the vilest anti-semitism in this group. What a heartless bunch of bastards you have here, Eric.
My sympathies to your wife. She’s certainly not alone with such dark thoughts.
I don’t see any antisemitism in this thread. A little ignorance and some insensitivity, but it’s hard to understand until you’ve walked in a person’s shoes. It is unnerving that those people want to kill me simply because I was born to a Jewish mother. It’s not a practical fear. It’s just an emotional discomfort. Hatred takes many forms and has varying intensity.
December 1, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Jewish Person
When the Jewish center was singled out and nine Jews were murdered in a calculated plot, Eric’s wife felt fearful–as did Jews everywhere. This is what “lodgepole” calls her fear:
“It seems like a stretch for some gratuitous self pity”
If this isn’t a sneering anti-semitic slur, then the term has no meaning at all.
” Jewish but not angry” further trivializes her fear: “It’s just an emotional discomfort.”
Right. Why should she feel fear just because nine Jews were singled out and murdered? That wouldn’t be “practical.”
December 1, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Jewish but not angry
First of all I don’t read fear into Eric’s account of his wife’s comment. I read that she is reminded that she is Jewish in a world which is still not warmed up to Jews.
lodgepole’s choice of words was wrong and he (or she) has already apologized for it.
I too have found Stephen’s words upsetting, but it seems Jewish Person that you have your own issues. You have obviously been mistreated as a Jew and it’s obviously had an impact on you. I suppose you believe that I have been “assimilated” or maybe I’m even a “self-hating Jew.” I have seen my share of antisemitism and while I wouldn’t deny you your right to your anger I don’t think all of your reactions are productive. Nobody here has expressed any hatred of Jews.
December 1, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Jewish Person
If you are Jewish, then you should understand why she is frightened. The “black” reference is hardly about “people who are not warmed up to Jews” but to suddenly realizing that your group is considered fair game for the most hateful and murderous violence. The Jews in India were singled out for MURDER, not shunned at a country club. How can you possibly have missed that?
December 1, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Jewish but not angry
But my issue is with your view of the people posting here on the blog. They don’t want to kill me. And they don’t even want to shun me. Not for being Jewish anyway. I’m just think you could stand to mellow a little. You are starting to make me feel like and Uncle Tom.
December 1, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Jewish Person
“The people on this blog…??”
You seem incapable of focusing on the issue at hand, so I’m dropping this discussion. For those who are interested, your comments speak volumes.
December 1, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Heraldo
Nick, I blocked you because you like to play with yourself in public. That is to say, you make anonymous comments attacking your personal self in order to create an argument that wouldn’t otherwise exist.
December 1, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Nick Bravo
Heraldo, prove it.
December 1, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Anonymous
Heraldo can’t even prove their own name, Nick. As much of a joke as your political campaigns were at times, you are still ten times the man he will ever be, because at least you’re forthright and courageous.
Heraldo is a disgusting fat little troll fracking his poor little self all alone in the dark, and always will be. It’s like he’s the politics version of being a closet case, forever ashamed of himself and lashing out at others to cover his own inadequacies.
Someday the power will go out for a while, maybe someday soon. The shut-ins like Heraldo will suddenly find themselves with no one to fool.
December 2, 2008 at 1:26 am
the last stone
I’m not black, but there’s a whole lotta times I wish I could say I’m not white.
December 2, 2008 at 1:39 am
Nick Bravo
I’ll wager many members of any group can say at times they wish they didn’t belong to a certain group. I for one wished I could be something other than Martian when “Mars Attacks” came out.