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Tag: gaza

The Need for Peaceful Reconciliation

August 10, 2014

It’s getting bad now. All over the world. Protests and marches in the streets of New York, London, Paris, South Africa, Berlin, Sydney and many more cities across the globe — all protesting against the incredibly shocking loss of innocent lives at the hands of Hamas and Israel. As I posted yesterday, it’s not just our Palestinian friends we should be concerned with but our Israeli brothers and sisters too. For this has gone too far now and for too long. The radical rightwing government of Israel is endangering the lives and safety and welfare of its citizens through this military offensive in Gaza (they’re fooling no one by attempting to call it defense.) They’re also endangering their economic welfare. The people of the world are now firmly against Israel for what it’s been witnessing; the people of Israel will be the ones to suffer because of it even though it’s the government who is doing it.
 
 It’s also getting bad in the States and online as well. Social media is not just abuzz, it’s aflame. Inflamed with hate speech and vicious arguments and attacks from both sides of the wall. Friends are turning on friends. Celebrities are speaking out, some compassionate, some hateful. (Joan Rivers exemplified true racist inhumanity in comments she made publicly yesterday). There seems to be no truth to this issue other than a lot of innocent people are dying. And unfortunately no one can do anything to stop it from continuing so far. But everybody wants to chime in. This makes sense. It really does. We are being moved so much emotionally that it is affecting us physically. It is affecting our actions. We HAVE TO act. We have to DO something. It feels irresponsible to sit here idly doing nothing while witnessing such inhumanity taking place. And yet there isn’t a lot people are doing except blaming each other or spreading hateful viewpoints and anger. Not helpful.
 
 This morning I awoke to an onslaught of notifications that my Facebook feed was going nuts still, leftover from yesterday. Zeke asked me to step in and delete all the threads, which would be nearly impossible for it’s almost all we’ve done for four weeks, discuss this issue… But his point was well taken: no one is doing anything except making other people angry. It’s sad and completely unhelpful. It was the last thing I wanted to wake up to today. But he was right. A few bad apples spoiling the whole cart.
 
 Hey man. Just woke up. I soooooo did not want to do this today… (Imagine how THEY feel — that’s a luxury they can’t afford over there…on either side…) Still groggy. Having espresso. Saw your name in a post on my phone and immediately logged on here. My apologies dog.
 
 Lord knows I have TRIED to encourage people to NOT be rude or insult others or resort to name calling or hate speech or state obviously erroneous factoids, or even refrain from patronizing remarks like “sorry chief” or “you need to go back to school”. NONE of that is part of diplomacy. It gets us nowhere. I’ve begged for it over and over. Last week I repeatedly deleted someone from posting over and over again all day (he was a persistent fucker) because his words were so vile. And over the last week i have had to unfriend several normally very cool people for going apeshit crazy on my threads over this issue. I really just don’t get why people cannot be rational and civil.
 
 I want so badly for us to be able to discuss things, debate things even, just as we are able to do on Forum or Quora, and just as — even as a small microcosmic representation of, our counterparts are having to do right this very minute in Cairo and Tel Aviv and DC and The West Bank. How are they supposed to broker peace and reconcilliation if we — just regular people with no real bones to pick with each other on social media — can’t even act civilly towards each other? Why does “blame” always enter the picture? Or “hate”? Or racist remarks? Or rudeness?
 
 Arlan was right in that NO one can solve this issue except the two parties involved, ultimately those two people are the ones who are going to have to make peace and forgive and reconcile. But I also believe that it’s going to take many different groups and factions to help; offering support and guidance, and different viewpoints. Just as it took in all our previous battles wars and skirmishes. This is a world problem, as I’ve posted before. This is for better or worse our generation’s South Africa — (Remember: Mandela was imprisoned for “terrorist acts” — he DID resort to terrorism in his 20s due to the ignorance of his youth and desperation. He actually tried to blow a place up. So even the best of us get messed up…) — so I see this as the world’s cause for BOTH sides. Because BOTH sides have genuine concerns and valid points.
 
 We ALL need to step up and step in to end this sad state of affairs. But only if we’re being constructive and blatantly helpful. I am referring both to US here now in the smaller microcosm AND to us THERE in the bigger picture.
 
 For example, I’m going to say it again as I did yesterday: HAMAS IS NOT HELPING. They are hurting. Their cause may have been noble but they chose the wrong method. Period. Violence BEGETS violence. Sure we’ve won in the past before using violence (the American revolution, the Russian and Iranian ones etc…) But Hamas isn’t going to win. And if they did then all our Israeli brothers and sisters would be toast. So THEY need to go. In other words, THEY should NOT even be allowed at the bargaining table. It’s a sham that we are forced to be bargaining with overt terrorists. It’s a joke.
 
 Here’s another one: Iran needs to stop with the anti-Israel platform and speech. Yes we get it. The viewpoint that Judaism is accepted and respected as it is in Iran (VERY respected) BUT that Israel was illegal and not done properly. But that’s the PAST. We’re never going to reverse it. So as long as they take that stance THEY too are NOT being helpful. And so they just don’t belong in the conversation. Anyone who takes a “we refuse to reconcile” or “we refuse to accept reality” stance is not helping. Along with anyone who overtly seems to disrespect life. Or insults. Or is rude. Or misquotes facts. Not helping.
 
 But facts…they help. Opinions and ideas and viewpoints that are new AND compassionate CAN help. IF we’re all willing to give a little, and grow a little, and accept that we can be wrong sometimes, and compromise, then we can fix this. I have learned through the years as a diplomat that one has to be fluid, like a liquid, able and willing to encompass both and all sides to a disagreement; AND willing to honor truth and human life above all things. Everything else gets in the way.
 
 What this means friends on both sides is: those who come on here and ONLY defend Israel and never even bother to acknowledge the incredibly sad and shameful loss of innocent life, ala Joan Rivers yesterday, is NOT helping. You’re scary. And the same goes for those who just keep hammering Israel without acknowledging that Gazans VOTED for a terrorist group to run their little swath of land — they KNEW this might happen. Hell, it was almost a given. And martyrdom — DYING while fighting — is encouraged by some in the Muslim community, i.e. THEY are bringing it on themselves some of them AND it doesn’t help to have a platform that says you want to do away with the other side. Duh!?! How is Israel supposed to feel safe under those conditions? I wouldn’t. BOTH sides have valid points. Both sides are being stubborn aholes and dragging us all through a lot of unnecessary pain. Our job is shine a light on what peaceful reconciliation looks like. Which basically means stop trying to prove the other guy wrong.
 
 My sincerest apologies to those of you who have been decent as we’ve discussed this issue. Blessed ARE the peacemakers. Let’s end this now and move on.

 

 – Posted by The Ambassador using BlogPress on an iPhone 8s Custom



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Uncategorized debate, diplomacy, gaza, hate speech, Iran, Israel, Joan Rivers, palestine, peace, reconciliation, respect

The Right of Self Defense in New Israel

August 6, 2014

Last week our house was broken into. It appeared to be two or three men. Not 100% sure. It was dark and It happened fast. But as they fired their weapons off in my house I was lucky enough to be able to fire off a few rounds as well, which quickly got them scared and running. They fired a few a more, hitting nothing but the walls thank God. The alarm system we have installed is top notch and between this and my shooting, this was enough to scare them away. Luckily no one was hurt. My wife and kids are okay. I’m somewhere between traumatized and pissed. Someone could have gotten hurt. Killed even. While it was happening I noticed the suspects looked indian. Not like samosas and curry indian, but like what they call “Native American”. I’m so sick of these politically correct liberals and their know it all “native americans”-speak. I call them indians as do most of my friends. So fuck it. Indians it is.

Less than a half hour’s drive away from our neighborhood, which for as long as I can remember has been called New Israel, there’s this little dumpy area called Snohomish. It’s almost all Indians there. They’ve been there for years. They used to be everywhere. Or so goes the argument. But our neighborhood has been here for as long as I can remember. Since I was a kid at least. And so has my family. We can trace our lineage here in America back three or four generations maybe. Needless to say, it’s a controversy. This area the indians live in has slowly grown into a self-sustaining community almost totally separate from our upscale suburban town. But it’s a dump. Crime and disease infest the place. Where we live on the other hand is clean, well lit and safe. We pay a ton of taxes, which by all accounts go mostly to these so called native americans to help them with their schools and other government social welfare programs.

This latest break in that happened, it isn’t the first. Other people have told me similar stories at the gym. That they too have had their homes robbed or attacked by these Indians. They’ve never been caught. But it’s definitely them. They hate us for our wealth and our freedom. It’s obvious. They think we owe them something because they once used to populate and dominate this land. But that was years ago. Progress is progress. We’ve earned this land free and clear. The government gave our family a small piece of this land almost sixty years ago and the rest we’ve bought on our own and built up through the years. The same goes for our neighbors. The only problem is that every now and then we encounter a problem with the indians who still think they have some right to it. So they pull stunts like these tonight. And we of course have every right to defend ourselves.

A few hours pass and I can’t sleep. I just can’t take it. I’m pissed. It’s getting near dawn now. My wife and kids have finally fallen asleep, everyone piled on our bed. Huddled together and frightened. But now safe and sound. But me I’m fuming. The nerve of these fuckers. I head out into the garage to pace and drink a glass of whiskey. I grab my shot gun, a few boxes of extra shells, a pistol and a few grenades. Before I know it, I get into my car and drive into Snohomish. Slowly. Quietly. As soon as I cross that invisible border, from street lights to no street lights, from churches and strip malls to bars bodegas and liquor stores, I open my car windows and start shooting. Their streets are quiet still. But not for long.

Wherever those guys are who broke into my house it’s not readily apparent. But I figure they have to be somewhere. This is where they come from. This is where they live. So I start firing my shotgun into houses. Just slowly driving down Snohomish Blvd… Bam! Bam! Bam! Pretty soon I start hearing screaming. I must have gotten a few. Because I could hear in the shrieks of terror coming from the houses not just fear but anguish. My blood starts to boil with excitement and I begin to feel this rush. Perhaps I got one of the guys who broke into my house earlier this evening. I hope so. No mercy I think. You fuck with me I fuck with you. I keep firing into random homes. More screams. Welcome to the terrordome mother fuckers!

A whole family comes ruining out of this one condo unit that I had fired into. They’re waving their hands and screaming bloody murder. I see blood. A lot of blood. Three women, a few little kids and a man. He’s holding something. Could be a gun. Or maybe a shovel. I can’t tell. But I don’t wait to see what he’s holding. I slow down, take aim and fire. Bam! Bam! Bam bam bam! All five of them fall to the ground like marionettes. Dead for sure. Or at least severely wounded. Dirty varmint. That’ll teach them! They don’t even belong here and everyone knows it. They should go back to where they came from! But the funny thing is… no one will have them! Not even their own kind wants them. So they end up here. Clogging up our towns and neighborhoods. On the outskirts of our town. Stinking up the place with their filth and shabby clothes and primitive customs. Disgusting.

To my right I see a group of dark skinned men about a hundred yards or so coming towards my car waving their hands in the air frantically. They’re in a panic. These are men. Some young. Some old. These could very well be the exact same men who broke into my house. Or if not they’ve probably broken into other people’s houses. So I accelerate a little towards them and roll down my passenger window. I take out my pistol, a semi automatic, and start shooting. Bam! Bam! Bam! One by one I bring the filthy beasts down. Blood splatters against their dark skin as they fall to the pavement. I keep driving. Through my rear view mirror I can see one or two of them moving a little on the ground. No worries. I can always get them on the way back when I swing around this way again i think.

Ahead to my left I see a large white builidng. It looks like some kind of a YMCA type place. Who knows with these fuckers, because I can’t read the strange hieroglyphic type of writing on the front of the building. But word on the street is that the same criminals who come into our neighborhoods at night to break into our homes hide out in these places. They live among the people. Cowards. I jerk my car over hard left and get real close to the building. There has to be at least a hundred or so people in there. It’s several stories high. A few lights come on. I see shadows flickering past the windows of the place, so bam I fire! Windows break. Screams. No more shadows. I reach over to the passenger seat and grab one of the grenades with my right hand, I pull the pin out with my teeth and chuck it right into the front of the building! BLAMMO! Bulls eye! A huge fucking explosion! Debris and glass flies everywhere. Smoke fills up the whole front exterior of the place. I can’t see anything. Just smoke. But I can hear them. Screaming and more screaming. Total pandemonium. But I don’t want to hear screaming. I want them dead.

So I stop my car for a moment and wait. In a few seconds out pour these bodies, one by one at first — BAM! BAM! — I fire at them and they drop, and then in droves, men women and children, all coughing and choking, fleeing the smoke and rubble like little ants escaping a large boot on an ant hill. They’re running every which way. Everywhere and nowhere. For there’s no place for them to go really. They know it and so do I. The whole world knows it frankly. We’ve pushed them to the very edge of land since when we first started developing this area decades ago. So I just stay parked there and fire at them. One by one they fall to the ground.

One or two of the women look pregnant. This makes me think of my own wife when she was pregnant with our sons. I pause for a moment. But my wife isn’t an indian I think. She’s not one of them. So fuck it. And what am I supposed to do? I’m not supposed to defend myself and my family? I fire more and more and still more. I keep firing until my clip runs out. But they keep coming. I grab the second grenade and pull out the pin. Wait…. Wait… I throw it into the center of them and BAM!!!! Blood and guts debris and body parts and hair fly up all over the place. It’s mass destruction. Smoke fills the whole area. It’s quiet for a minute. Just nothing except moans. And sobs. Crying. Weeping. It’s a slaughter. They stop running out of the building. I stare at the bloody mess and rubble for a few seconds and realize I’m out of ammo. A slow grin creeps upon my face as an intoxicating satisfaction leaks from my heart through my entire body.

The carnage before my eyes is ample. This is self defense at its finest. The definition of self defense. Before I have time to fully take it in and relish it I press the pedal of my car down and spin around and start driving home. Fast. God only knows what these fuckers are thinking now. I need to get out of here. For the time being they’re defeated. Discouraged and decimated. But I’m fully aware that in time there will be consequences for my actions. They’ll come back from the dead and try to seek their revenge. As they always do. But we’ll be ready for them as we were this time. Besides, the little guns they have when they do manage to get past our security gate and break into our homes are almost useless. They’re toys. No match against our iron dome-like mansions and palatial guarded estates in New Israel.

As I slowly drive through the security gate of our neighborhood it looks and feels like a different world. Street lamps are still on — their light now competing with that of the rising sun. Manicured lawns, three car garages, fancy cars fill every driveway, some morning sprinkler systems are already running. Just the thought of these Indians and the slums they live in disgusts me. Makes me happy to be home. And happier still that I was able to kill so many of them. Maybe they’ll think twice before they try to sneak into our neighborhood and break into our homes.

As I pull into my own garage I realize that there might be some flack or blowback for my actions, especially from people outside of our little town. From what we call the “well meaning ignorant left”. But anti-american is what I call them. People who don’t understand what it’s like to wake up in the middle of the night scared to death that someone has broken into your house. Sure they’ll raise a big fuss at first. But that will die down quickly. As soon as the next hurricane hits the coast or the next fire rages out of control in California. It’s a matter of time and really nothing else. For whatever reason most people don’t care about other people half as much as they care about money or celebrity. The police will come by and question me. But what are they going to do? We pay their fucking salaries. They know it and so do we. What? They’re going to write me a ticket? I find myself chuckling at the thought. It’s the first time I’ve laughed since the break in occurred. It feels good.

Nah, there’s nothing that anyone can do. This was self defense after all. I didn’t start it. All i did was finish it. Is it my fault that I have bigger guns than they do? How’s that my fault? And who can blame me for trying to protect my family? What else do people expect me to do? Plus I probably only killed a hundred of those dirty fuckers at best. No one ever gets in trouble for killing a hundred of them. A thousand, okay maybe. But not a hundred. They’re just not considered the same as us. No one is going to give a shit in a week or two. And for good reason. They’re not even from here. They’re not white. They’re not American. It’ll be okay. I’ll be fine. This thought calms my nerves as I turn on the water in our master shower to wash up. I start imagining what it will be like recounting the story to friends at the gym and coworkers. I’ll be considered a hero. The wife and kids are still asleep. There is peace in our home once more. I cannot wait to crawl into bed with my wife and fall asleep in her arms. I’m exhausted. Self defense is hard work. But well worth it indeed.



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Uncategorized gaza, indians, Israel, killing people, land ownership, liberals, Native Americans, palestine, Palestinians, pistol, politically correct, self defense, shotgun, Snohomish, social welfare, the right of

The World’s Problems Ain’t Mine and Other Lies We Tell Ourselves

August 5, 2014

More and more posts on Facebook, Tumblr and other social media here in the States are exclaiming how they don’t want to see the horrific sites of what’s happening the world. I just saw another one today. It read:

“Wtf! Everyone on Facebook, around the world knows that there are horrible things going on in this world… we all fucking know this.. we are all aware, but some asshole feels it’s necessary to post horrific photos here, and frankly my friendship with this person just ended. I don’t need to open Facebook and see a severed child’s body on a morgue table. I don’t give warnings or second chances, my work with you is over, because you are contributing to a problem that I am full aware of you shameless piece of shit.”

I commented: “Ended up feeling so passionate about this post that i used this comment box as a platform to write a post for The Transcendence Diaries?. Please disregard and feel free to NOT read if you choose to. No harm in that and no offense will be taken.”

I’m very torn by this post frankly. As any intelligent mind would be, knowing that only the very bluntest of minds feel 100% one way or another about anything… Life is far too nuanced for that. Part of me totally gets it, agrees with it. We don’t want to be bombarded by grotesque sites everywhere we look. Especially not in our cherished world of social media. we’d rather look at pictures of cats and babies and wedding pictures. I get it. I’m with ya. Why SHOULD we have to see things we don’t want to? And yet we don’t really… do we? And we aren’t being forced to, not in reality. Let’s face it. 99% of the time everything in our cheery privileged world here in the US is the exact opposite of horrific pictures or “grotesque sites” — instead we are surrounded by smiling photos of Andi and Josh or the Keebler Elf or Captain Crunch or the cast of the Today Show; at worst we may come across some pseudo-shocking revelations about Justin and Jen or Kanye and Kim. But for the most part our lives here are pretty much Disney Family Movies?.

Meanwhile, just across the pond there are three entire countries, Gaza (Palestine), Syria and Iraq (at least… 5 or 6 really, if we include Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, and let’s not forget Ukraine…) completely demolished and destroyed AND the reasons and causes for the devastation pretty much all come down to us, here, in the US, in one way or another. But still, why should we care if we don’t HAVE to?

Gaza is a literal trash heap now. Completely demolished. almost 2,000 normal everyday innocent civilian folks killed, for no reason. That’s more than 1% of their population. It is akin to 340,000 Americans being killed in three weeks here. That’s three hundred and forty THOUSAND dead Americans. It’s astounding to consider. We wouldn’t have any clue how to deal with that kind of loss here in the US. We’d literally lose our minds if someone did that to us.

The means? 110% American tax payer money that paid for that. And American weapons that did the killing. NOTHING else paid for it EXCEPT American tax payer money. We pay the taxes and every year Israel receives 3 to 6 billion dollars of free American tax payer money. Why? How? How does that happen and we don’t even have a say in it or how it is used? But we don’t want to see images of what our money is doing on Facebook… It’s too sad. It’s too shocking. It’s hard to fathom, hard to swallow, hard to contend with. Impossible to feel the responsibility. We tell ourselves it’s not our fault. WE didn’t pull those triggers. We didn’t blast off those bombs. We’re not over there shooting people or blowing up homes. It’s not OUR business.

And yet… It is our business. Because it’s our money that pays for it and our support that permits it to happen. Just imagine Russia killing 2000 people ANYWHERE in the world and watch what the US does. Hah! Permit it we certainly would not. We would be OUTraged. But with Israel… we not only permit it, we condone it and supply the weapons and money to do it.

Same with Iraq. Sure we tried hard to “free them”. But we destroyed the foundation of an entire country’s governmental system in the process and now they’re weeks away from a bloody civil war the likes of which only Hollywood could replicate, but only in CGI –and the American people…? They now say they want no part in it. So no, sorry Iraq we’re not going to help you. You’re going to have to fight this one on your own. It’s already a disaster. But its about to be armageddon for these poor people. All because of the US and their pesky invasion and desire for “freedom”. At least that’s what they say. Frankly the Iraqis believe it had more to do with their oil… But who knows. Who cares? We’re again way over here, far from all that chaos and madness and destruction. Why should we care?

Then there’s Syria… God only knows how much the US has or had to do with it. Libya too. There’s another country we destroyed and is now crumbling before the world’s eyes.We stirred up a hornet’s nest there in Libya and now it’s getting so bad that we’re yanking our people out of there faster than Kim and Kanye marry and divorce. But the Libyans? They’re not going anywhere. For them, the Americans leaving means things are about to turn even uglier. God forbid the Americans have to see it.

Syria, God only knows how much or little we had to do with that…. sure we’re funding a host of different so-called freedom fighters and terrorists there in Syria — because we aren’t sure WHO to fund, so we’re throwing money at all of them — why? — because we just know we want that particular leader, Assad, ousted and thrown out of his country but we don’t have the courage or the fortitude to be honest about it and go do it ourselves. We know the world would never allow it. So we secretly and covertly (but openly) fund THEIR idea of “terrorists”. THIS is legal. Accepted at least. Hell, ANYthing that the United States does is legal and accepted. No matter what. It’s a twisted thing. Almost a million of their people have now been killed. In a year. How can we even fathom that? Clearly it’s not our fault. At least not 100%. This is THEIR civil war. We’re just playing a few sides to see if we can come out on top in some way when they’re done killing themselves. As we always do. (Chile, Nicaragua, Cambodia, Vietnam, Colombia, Iran, et al.) That’s our game if we can’t be directly involved.

But regardless of who’s to blame, it’s difficult to think that while we’re sitting pretty over here in Disney World that all of these people in Syria are dying or being injured. One gets the feeling that we should be doing something about it, that we should be doing something besides logging into Facebook to screw around and type funny messages to each other or play Farmville or Words With Freinds. There’s that nagging moral urge to help. At least in some of us. Frankly I feel that it exists in all of us, and furthermore I believe that’s what prompts the kind of posts that I quoted above. This girl is obviously feeling the pain created by this urge to help but not knowing how to… so she’d rather ignore what’s going on. It hurts too much to see it. Trust me, I know. I’ve never been in more pain than i have been sine Israel starting bombing Gaza three weeks ago. Talk about helpless.

Which is why at times I disagree with the above post. I get it. I really do. Why should WE be reminded of Syria and their desire to kill each other? Just like in Darfur a few years ago…. What was it our business? (Well that actually WAS partly our doing and thus our business…. bad example. But you get the point.) Why should we be worried about seeing gross images on our fun funny kooky cool social media sites just because the rest of the world is in utter chaos? We have no inherent responsibility to help our fellow man. We SAY we do. We pretend we do. We teach our children that we do. But in reality we don’t really feel that way. We don’t REALLY want to be bothered with all that. There’s too much good to watch tonight on TV here in the US. And there are too many good dates to go on and too many good restaurants to go to and too many good songs to listen to. Hell, there are just too many good apps to download! We do NOT have the time to worry about other people on earth who are dying or injured. And yes, by that standard, then it’s perfectly understandable that we should not have to see that shit on FB.

But what if we DO help? What if we give money to causes that try to help? And frankly we just can’t bare to see that much grossness all the time if we are expected to go to our jobs and raise our kids well enough to be able to afford to donate to these causes, right? We do our part. It’s a free country. We should have the choice. I get it. And if we say NO to grotesque images of reality, then so be it. The answer is NO. Because that’s what freedom means.

Now…. if we could just find a way to integrate THAT totally justifiable feeling with the fact that we are actually funding 90% of the devastation that is going on all over the world THEN i would feel totally comfortable with taking this stance. The problem of course is that we ARE creating and funding either directly (Israel) or indirectly (Syria, Ukraine) the majority of the root causes of the “grotesque images” we so desperately don’t want to see. And because of that, then by all means shouldn’t WE be forced to witness these horrific images as often as these people who are experiencing them are? At least until we figure out a way to stop our government from doing these things? How else are we going to be motivated to DO anything about what is happening in our name and with our money?

As a last thought… if WE had thousands of people dying all around US in a bloody civil war ala Israel or Ukraine or Syria, we WOULD do something about it, one way or another. We’d SEE it. Smell it. Hear it. We’d fall asleep at night listening to it. And we’d damn sure do something to stop it. Well I bet that the Palestinians feel that way right this very minute. And so too do some Israelis. And the rest of the world’s peoples struggling and suffering. Hell knows that Ukrainians are now wondering WHY they let the US come in and oust their president and government now that there’s a war going on in their country between the US and Russia over oil and natural gas. Maybe we just need to be reminded — as these people are on a daily basis — what it is that we are doing, so we can actually stop it. Hell even if we aren’t even involved anymore, Libya, don’t we have a moral obligation to help? Or did that go away with the advent of Facebook? This is what I contemplate all the time… Is there really such a thing as a moral imperative? Or is it just something we tell ourselves to make us feel better about ourselves in between bites of hot freshly baked just delivered pizza?



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Uncategorized Chile, Colombia, facebook, gaza, horrific pictures, Iran, Iraq, moral imperative, Pakistan, personal responsibility, Posts, Russia, Ukraine, United States involvement in foreign wars, Yemen

Questioning the Morality of Self Defense In Israel

July 28, 2014

I know a lot of you have been patiently waiting for me to speak out openly and honestly about what we have been witnessing in Gaza, that you’ve been hoping I would for a moment lay down the gauntlet of Libran fairness and Ambassador-driven diplomacy and just speak my mind about the horrors we have been witness to in Gaza. The truth is I have tried very very hard to be fair over the last three weeks. I have been careful and cautious with my every word and deed, respectful of all parties involved. And I promise you that in every waking hour of this conflict I have done nothing but study the issues at hand and the history behind them so that when I do speak I am doing so from an educated place. Tonight I want to honor that commitment I have made to you here in the Diaries countless times, to be always radically honest over politically correct and above all to speak from both my mind and my heart.

Almost three weeks in now and still the siege and annihilation of the people of Gaza rages on by the government of Israel. Over 1,100 Palestinian people have been killed at least in less than three weeks. Shot to death. Or their bodies blown to bits. Almost all of them civilians and nearly half of them women and children. Yet it is surprisingly calm and quiet in the United States regarding the grotesque bloodshed and blatant disregard for human life that we’ve been hearing about and witnessing.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon stated publicly that he is appalled by Israel’s actions and calls their “right to defend themselves” in how it has been practiced “an abomination.” This is a bold move for any high ranking member of the UN, for if there’s one thing that everyone knows once they reach a certain level in world governance, it is don’t mess with Israel. Yet this brave compassionate man felt he simply had no choice. He spoke the words that hundreds of millions of people all over the world are silently thinking to themselves and are often times afraid to say.

No less than ten different human rights organizations in Israel alone have sent letters to the Netenyahu government urging him to stop the slaughter of innocent men women and children — if not out of basic human compassion then for the sake of the country itself, for they are quite sure now that Israel has committed numerous war crimes. The United Nations itself held a vote last week regarding the same topic and the resulting majority concluded that Israel was indeed suspect of breaking innumerable Laws of the Geneva Convention and suspected of committing numerous war crimes. So they’ve sent a UN investigative team to Gaza to see for themselves.

Of course regardless of what their final determination will be–even if Israel is found guilty of breaking international laws of the Geneva Convention and committing the most atrocious war crimes, absolutely nothing substantial will happen to Israel for it. This is the harsh reality of life in the year 2014 in this day and age on planet earth. Israel is above the law. It is not justice or freedom or democracy that governs the world we live in today, any more than one to two to three hundred years ago; but as it has always been it is money and power. And Israel, this tiny little speck of a country, who’s legitimacy in the eyes of the Illuminati is iron clad but whose origin is controversial and questionable, is synonymous with the United States. And if there is one thing that all earthlings know at this time in our history, the rules and laws of the land, no matter how finely tuned or ingrained in the minds of the people, do not apply to the United States. Nor it’s allies. And Israel is ally número uno.

People all over the world, from nearly every country on earth, have called for protests in the streets — and everyday we see a new one pop up somewhere; and as well they are demanding a world government of any kind to step in and demand that Israel stop it’s murderous invasion of this impoverished little chunk of land. But not in America. For whatever reasons the American government has the majority of its sheople convinced that Israel has the right to kill men women and children in cold blood if they even “suspect” a Hamas militant is in the vicinity or general area. And if it turns out that there was no such militant, que sera sera. Last week Israeli soldiers killed an entire family of twenty-five people as they were sitting down to dinner to break their fast of the holiest Muslim holiday of the year, Ramadan. There were elderly people at that table eating their dinner, along with 13 children and three pregnant women. All of them innocent. All of them now dead.

Yes (I know what you’re thinking) these ARE horrors that are beyond the scope of even our imaginations here in the United States because we have it so good and for so long that we simply cannot even imagine it. Not even when we hear about it. Not even when we see images of it on the news or online. It’s as if we are glimpsing into another world, far far removed from our own. As if it’s nothing more than a movie. And yet these are people just like us. These are our little children whose bodies are being blown to bits all over the streets, where caring men from the community slowly hobble along sobbing and picking up the pieces of the tiny bodies bit by bit to place them in plastic bags. These are our mothers being shot and killed. These are our pregnant wives being blown up by mortar shells, wiping out two generations in one blow. And as well these are our fathers and sons and brothers who are dying.

How do we know this? How can we say such a thing if we aren’t Palestinian ourselves? There are so many different ways to answer those questions. First and foremost we have a decent sized Palestinian population right here in the United States. And these innocent civilians we see getting killed everyday are quite literally their brothers and sisters or mothers and fathers. I can only imagine how saddened they are in this moment, and how angry, watching as the country that they love and call home, the United States, does nothing to help their families. And on top of it their wounds made all the worse as they are forced to hear everyday how strongly supportive the president or Secretary of State is of “Israel’s right to defend itself”. Because even the slowest person in the room recognizes that haphazardly bombing and killing hundreds of innocent civilians on a daily basis is not defending one’s self.

If we ever had a chance of showing our Islamic fellow citizens the virtues of Christianity, we have surely blown it through this travesty of America valuing politics over human life.

How else do we know that these gunned down innocents in Gaza are our brothers and sisters? Because when it happened to us, on 9/11, we not only expected the world to empathize and grieve with us, we felt comforted and loved when they did. Why are we as Americans not repaying that debt in kind to these poor downtrodden victims of a cruel and merciless war? Why are we not showing the other the same empathy and compassion that was shown to us when we were attacked? Why do we not have troops on the ground as we have in so many areas of the world helping to evacuate civilians, bringing food, aid and medicine to the injured sick or dying? What is happening to the brave compassionate American heart that we all know and admire? Why isn’t it in Gaza right now helping lead refugees to safety as Israel bombs the hell out of this little sliver of an area — the people are literally blockaded in on all sides by walls and armed Israeli militants. For years it’s been called a modern day concentration camp by even the most conservative accounts. Yet the United States does nothing to help. But why?

Because the official stance of the United States government is that “we support Israel”. Of course the truth is that 90% or more everyday average Americans don’t have any idea WHY they are supposed to support Israel. They just hear it through the news media day in and day out and have been hearing it for fifty straight years. It’s a rallying cry for every prospective or serving American politician, right up there with “I believe in American Exceptionalism”. And in the constant beating of this strange illogical unexplained drum, Americans get a message perhaps subliminally that it isn’t safe to grieve or empathize or care about Palestinian people because it implies not supporting Israel.

Most of this is due to a great propaganda machine running a constant meme throughout the Americas that states in essence that to speak against Israel in any way is somehow an immoral, nearly criminal offense. Just try it. You’ll quickly see. America is a “free” country, except when it comes to speaking out against Israel in anyway. This is why you see politicians and wannabe politicians leap at the chance to wave their support flag for Israel whenever they’re on TV or giving an interview. Half of them don’t even know why they do it; they’re just trained to. Many more don’t have a clue about the history of the country nor the conflict with the Arabs, nor do they understand what all the fuss is about. They’ve just been warned plenty of times as we all have that to even dare speak out against Israel in any way is somehow a “very bad” thing.

This is propaganda and indoctrination at its finest. It is Madison Avenue advertising means taken to sociopolitical ends for the purposes of brainwashing an entire populace to be very afraid of being labeled an “anti-Semite” or a so called “holocaust denier”. Yes even if you’re intention is simply to question why Israel needs to indiscriminately kill so many innocent civilians, invariably someone will be soon calling you out as a holocaust denier.

Social media in the United States has been on fire for the last three weeks over this issue, pitting both newly made and lifelong friends against each other in hateful ways. As soon as one person voices empathy for the Palestinian people who have been mercilessly killed OR opposition to how Israel is doing it, one or two hapless goons will jump into the thread raving mad and screaming insults the likes of which we haven’t heard since we crushed neo-Nazis and white power skinheads a few years back. They are mean ruthless ignorant barbaric animals with wicked tongues of deceit and vitriol. And they will stop at nothing until they’ve quieted the thread down or scared everyone away.

Believe it or not these are often American Jews, who for whatever reason are more extremist in their radical pro-Israel rightwing views than most Israelis are. In my research over the last few weeks this is one of the many lessons I have been shocked to  learn. There is a larger percentage of Israelis who empathize with the Palestinian cause and are against the rampant murder that’s been going on in Gaza over the last three weeks than there are American Jews here in the States. For more on this strange anomaly, look for the Israeli film DEFAMATION on Netflix or Youtube and watch it. It is shocking and eye opening.

While you’re at it, take the time to look for my Youtube Channel, TranscendentTV and find a playlist I created called Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. I have saved a variety of movies and documentaries to this playlist that go over the history of Zionism and the formation of Israel that will help explain what caused this conflict in the first place.

But be forewarned. Once you watch these, it is hard to forget them; once you learn these facts, it is impossible to unlearn them. Your eyes will be opened in a way that you may not enjoy. There is great injustice in the world. And it is we, the well meaning American tax payer, who have often paid for these atrocious acts of unfairness. Especially when it comes to the formation of Israel and what happened to the people who lived there before that time. Take a look at any World Atlas pre-1947 — go to the library or to your grandparents house if you have to — and look for Israel. You won’t find it. Instead, in it’s place you’ll see an area called Palestine. Which is what it was called for over a thousand years until they changed its name to Israel in 1948. And the people who lived there before? in Palestine? Yes… These are the millions of Palestinian refugees who now occupy the areas called the West Bank and Gaza who are now once again being slaughtered.

If you’re like me, and if you’re reading this I trust you might be, your heart breaks at the thought of any living thing being hurt or injured, let alone being killed or losing a child. Perhaps like me you are a Buddhist Taoist Christian, or maybe an Avatar, or maybe just an enlightened and compassionate fellow traveler and humanist. Regardless of what we call ourselves or what labels we ascribe to ourselves for comfort or peace of mind, we can all agree that murdering innocent people is wrong. It is an immoral act of the highest caliber. As Americans we consider it such a heinous crime against civilized society that it is the only crime where we deem there to be no suitable punishment for except execution. And though I do not support capital punishment for I believe that we cannot train a society that something is wrong if we turn around and do the same exact thing ourselves, I believe this illustrates just how firmly resolute we are in our shared conviction that murder is wrong and not to be tolerated in a civilized society.

And yet this is precisely what the current American White House administration wants us as citizens to support. Four young boys playing ball on the beach, killed. A United Nations shelter filled with families seeking shelter from the war, blown up. Schools filled with children, destroyed. Hospitals even, where both the sick and dying and the living breathing personnel have been blown up by air strikes, missiles or tanks. None of this is American. It is not how we were raised. It is the exact opposite of how we were raised and what we were taught about right and wrong. We are a lot of things here in America, some of them gaudy and some of them glorious. But indiscriminate killers we are not. So why are we being asked to support this slaughter of innocent people?

And as Christians… Does one even need go there? Does it even need to be mentioned how utterly inhumane and unChristian these acts are to the Christian heart? Can we even imagine how the heart of Jesus is breaking over what He is witnessing being carried out in His name? Yes as human beings we are appalled. And yes as compassionate Avatars who love precious humanity and are working to create an enlightened planet we are appalled. But as Christians… Are there any words for what we are feeling? In the so called Holy Land no less it is truly, as Ban Ki-Moon reminds us, an abomination.

We are told that we worship the same God as the Jewish people. And we trust that. It is important that there are pious Jews living all over the world who are NOT taking part in this killing of Palestinian people and claim to not support it. In fact the more religious a Jewish person is the more against this killing of Palestinians they are I have recently learned. Secular Jews claim that this is due to “a conspiracy on their part because they are waiting for the Messiah to come and He can only come to earth if Jerusalem is being shared by both Jews and Muslims living in peace and the old temple is rebuilt”. This may be true — we know there are many Christians who believe the same thing; but at least it lends a basic humanity to these people.

I urge everyone to not make this a religious issue. I am sure there are just as many religious Jews who are as appalled by this as there are Christians or Muslims. And speaking of Muslims let us not forget that Hamas is continuously firing rockets into Israel STILL, even after over one thousand of the people they were elected to serve and protect have been killed. That is NOT the peaceful Muslim way of the Holy Koran.

No, this is not a matter of religion. And it never was. Don’t let anyone fool you. This war is about land and power and resources. These are a special breed of people — godless and wild, heartless, wrathful and vengeful — who are capable of things that most of us are not. They need our prayers more than we do — clearly religion isn’t going to help them one way or another. But more than that they need our voices. If we do not speak up to voice our dissent and our disagreement with what they are doing then are we not just as guilty as they are? Have we not seen enough innocent blood shed? Have we not heard enough excuses and soundbites why neither side will agree to a ceasefire?

Every talking head of note from the United States government came on prime news shows last Sunday and this past Sunday to defend Israel’s “right to defend itself”, while at the same time expressing “grave concern for the human rights crisis that we are witnessing in Gaza”. It’s hard to have it both ways, to both be concerned about AND support the cause of the crisis. By now Americans understand that there is more money and influence tied up in supporting Israel than anywhere on earth. This is why the United States allows this carnage to continue in the name of Israel’s self defense and even goes so far as publicly defending it and financially supporting it; and yet they did nothing for the people of Rwanda or Darfur, and will do nothing for the people of Syria today. Hell, we can’t even muster more than 300 “advisor troops” for Iraq while they’re having a bloody civil war and we basically bought that country. With our own money AND our own soldiers. Clearly there is something very special and unique about Israel. [If you’re curious about what it is, buy the book They Dare To Speak Out, which explains that AIPAC, the Americans for Israel Political Action lobby in DC is THE largest lobby in the US of A. Larger than big oil or big Pharma, larger than DuPont or Monsanto, later than GE or Apple or Google or Microsoft and yes larger than the Pentagon or our precious self-defense spending. In other words, more money greases the palms of elected American officials regarding “protecting Israel” than any other single subject or corporate interest in Washington DC. And in return those elected officials promise their public displays of affection and support AND hand Israel 3 billion dollars a year of American tax payer money. It’s a brilliant system. One that overtly should be illegal and criminalized, granted. But for now this is how the system works. If you ever wondered why the United States government pretends to care about “some people” and doesn’t seem to care at all about others, now you have a better understanding….]

This also helps explain why most of our friends over the last three weeks have been too busy posting photos of their Miami vacations or their allegedly cute kids on summer break to care about the crisis in Israel and Gaza: they just don’t believe there is anything that can be done about it. Most Americans know how the system works. They know that when it comes to Israel “anything goes” and that nothing they do as Americans is going to change that.

American Jews don’t have to dig too deep to understand why people all over the world repeat slogans like “the Jews run and control the world” when for all intents and purposes it appears just like they do once one sees and understands just how this American and Israeli exchange of money and weapons for political power works. What else are people supposed to believe?

How on earth are the American people supposed to be even remotely concerned with the plight of the people of Ukraine, as the US government is desperately trying to sell, if at the same time they are being told not to give a rats ass about women and children being slaughtered in Palestine? It just doesn’t add up. So instead they shut off that part of their brain, the caring part, the compassionate humane part. We aren’t designed inside to care only about “some” people. It’s just not how we work. After eleven years of bloodshed in the Middle East with over one million people killed by our money and soldiers, combined with Israel’s killing a thousand Gazans every few years with our money and weapons, how else are the American people supposed to feel?

Frankly I’m surprised we FEEL anything at all. But surprisingly some of us still do. But not many. And that is no surprise. We have become  immune to feeling for other people. That’s why despite their best efforts, the White House and their media puppets cannot get the American people to care about Ukraine. There is obviously a lot of oil and natural gas on the line in that little country for our large hungry American appetite; and there may even be reasonably sound and practical strategic reasons for the United States to be there right now — or truly…why else would they be? But the American public just does not care. And who can blame them when their government is constantly picking and choosing which humans to care about and which ones to cast aside like rag dolls? The heart becomes confused. The heart becomes calloused.

And then there’s the fear. I can recite the names of at least twenty people I’ve spoken to this week who have expressed concern for what’s happening in Gaza; from the simplest down-home middle American folk to the highest paid most notable names in society. They use words like horrible, shocking, horrific, tragedy, disgusting, haunted…and yet there are only two who have said anything publicly about it. Only two have stood up to voice their disagreement with how Israel is handling their “self defense”. One of them is a pastor at a prominent church. Not only does he have a moral obligation to do so, but he has always been willing to play the black sheep when leading a charge for human rights. But the rest are afraid to say anything. Afraid isn’t the word. Scared to death is more like it.

Since when did speaking up for human rights or for the value of human life become a crime? Since when did these noble qualities equate to being racist or anti-Jewish? Since the formation of the American based Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Again, if you’re curious about how this system of indoctrination works and why it has been so easy to systematically shut up an entire country about the sanctity of human life unless they’re Jewish, see the film Defamation noted above. Only in America can one be made to feel like an evil racist in five minutes just for speaking out against violence or murder. Countries all over the world have been having marches and protests for weeks now to try to stop Israel from bombing the people of Gaza. But in America we are simply too jaded or too frightened to do so.

But I encourage all of us to lay down our self concern for a moment and embrace our humanity. Just as we did during World War II when we fought to save a people half way around the world from potential genocide, or during the civil rights movement right here at home twenty years later, we are being called upon once again to stand up and speak out on behalf of a desperate and displaced people, a people more economically poor than we can imagine and just as beaten down and trodden upon than those we helped save during World War II. These are a people who are literally being blown to bits like puppets right in front of our eyes every minute of the day, body parts flying around on live TV like an outtake of The Walking Dead — with absolutely no concern for their safety or welfare, nor a care for their futures or how they’ll survive once the killing stops.

People may lash out at you for speaking up. They may call you names. They may accuse you  of being a racist or anti-Jewish. They may insult you and scream at you. They may accuse you of not understanding the issues or not caring about the welfare of the Israeli people. But just as before, do not be afraid. Do not be intimidated. Remind yourself and others that we are not speaking out against Israel. And we are not speaking out against Jewish people — for there are just as many Jewish people around the world speaking out about this cause as any other ethnicity and religion. What we ARE speaking out against is killing innocent people and the destruction of homes and whole villages in the name of “self defense”. Surely there has got to be a better way to defend oneself than to kill thousands of innocent people. Surely there is a morality at play in the hearts of all human beings that lifts us above the animal kingdom, even when it comes to self defense. What is there left to defend if we have given away all of our humanity in the process?

Lest we forget we the American people give the country of Israel over three billion dollars ($3,000,000,000) a year of our hard earned income, in the form of OUR taxes. This is money that is NOT going to the poor people of Detroit or Louisiana or to safeguard our borders. This is money that is not going to feed our hungry or shelter our homeless. Instead it is going to Israel. Free of charge. Not a loan, but free money. And it’s been like this for decades now. Forget asking why for the time being. (For that is certainly a reasonable question when the time is right.) For now the question should be do we all really feel comfortable sponsoring such extreme and inhumane acts of killing innocent people? If the answer is resoundingly no then we have a platform to voice it and change this. Each of us needs to pick up that phone tomorrow and call the White House, our Senators and our elected members of congress and tell them to STOP THE KILLING IN GAZA OR WE WILL STOP PAYING FOR IT. I promise each of you that I will do this tomorrow. And I hope that each of you does the same.

Beyond that let us send love and appreciation to all parties involved with the hope that they feel it even for a moment in their hearts and that it somehow helps them to remember their own humanity and morality, guides them to lay down their arms and stop this madness.

Yours,

The Ambassador

 



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Uncategorized Americans, gaza, Hamas, Israel, Netenyahu, Palestinians, self defense, speaking out, sponsoring killing, Terrorism, United Nations, United States, war crimes, West Bank

Israel and Gaza: The Game Changer

July 22, 2014

Time has passed since this war begun fifteen days ago. Another 70 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, making the estimated death till now over 300. And another 2,500 at least are injured. Just as concerning over 100,000 Gazans have led their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs in an attempt to head to a United Nations bomb shelter. Many will not have homes when they return. They will be for all intents and purposes be destitute. But we must never forget that it was Hamas — in Gaza — who started this latest battle, by firing some 60 rockets into various cities in Israel. And it was the Palestinians who live in Gaza who voted Hamas into their current position of leadership, indirectly one could argue giving them permission or at least the means to attack Israel as they did.
 
 Since my last report Israel began their ground invasion entering into Gaza in tanks and on foot. A whole hospital was destroyed today. And worse, the death toll for Israel now is almost 30. I’ve had time to revisit my heart of hearts in regards to Israel’s mission and method to achieve that mission, i.e. It’s right to defend itself and it’s people. So I’ve changed my mind about Israel being justified for this horror that we are all witnessing day in and day out.
 
 In answer to all of the impassioned pleas from Israeli friends or American Jewish friends who ask “If you don’t believe our hearts break from the suffering of the Palestinians because we condone the killing of them in this war, what then would you have Israel do?” My answer would be: you know that Israel has the Iron Dome Missile Defense System. So less than 1% of rockets fired out of Gaza ever hit the ground. That’s an amazing technology. Thank God for it and thank God for the financial support of US taxpayers for all these decades. It could be MORE than just a way to engage in a bloody lopsided war with our wicked neighbors though. We could really use it to our advantage and instead of bombing Gaza and knowingly killing hundreds of innocent civilians we could instead hold an emergency press conference — EVERYONE would attend obviously — and announce to the world “Today Hamas fired 60 missiles into Israel. Luckily no one was killed or injured. But we believe this is a barbaric act and a blatant act of war. But we here in Israel are tire of war. We on the other hand refuse to stoop to their level. It is beneath us. It is against our Torah and our Ten Commandments. So we ask the international community, especially middle eastern countries who have good relations with Hamas, to do whatever it takes to immediately compel Hamas to stop firing upon us. We trust that everyone remembers what happened in 2012 when this happened and we were reluctantly forced to retaliate. Over 1200 Palestinians were killed. Many of them innocent. We would like to avoid a tragedy of the proportion from happening again. But we can only do so if Hamas ceases from this activity immediately. We ask our fellow citizens of earth to come to our aid both for the safety of our people and our neighbors in Gaza.”
 
 Now. THAT would really be something. It would blow minds. It would instantly change the way the entire world looks at Israel. In a heartbeat. By taking the high road they could shift the entire conversation — away from sympathy for the Palestinians being slaughtered and focus it instead on Israel’s justifiable fears and their noble and humane response to being attacked.
 
 In a word, it would be a revolutionary game changer. Something for the history books. Not just the history of Israel. But for the history of the entire human race.
 
 Hamas needs salaries paid for 45,000 men. Qatar may pay it. As it does sometimes. Or it may instead choose to hold off on paying it until Hamas ceasefires. Israel could also ask, as part of its agreement to hold off attacking, for the Palestinians to hold a mid term election or hold a referendum election and consider voting Hamas out of leadership in Gaza. A third request could be that Israel request a two week peaceful exploratory boots on the ground investigation into Gaza to search for tunnels and other stores of rockets and armaments that they would be free to take and destroy as part of the agreement. Israel might also agree to having a neutral third party to assist them in this investigation so that force is only used if anyone’s life becomes endangered.
 
 The ultimate goal being to have Israel be the first people in the world to finally live up to the true potential of a compassionate humankind and be that example for all of us all over the world. The US, the most brutal and active military force in the world today desperately needs a mentor and role model such as this. And so too do many other countries around the world. It’s long overdue that we each begin to encourage each other to take the higher road and not the primitive predictable barbaric road of the lower animals as we always have throughout our short history. Imagine the possibilities.
 
 The point being: Israel does have other options when it comes to it’s stated goal of “needing to defend its people”. The Iron Dome is already doing that. Better than anyone could have ever hoped for. Kudos to the ingenious Israelis who invented it. And if the people of Israel are still frightened of these incoming missiles (which is truth be told hard to believe since they are not acting like it — especially since they literally stand right in the line of fire of said missiles target areas while watching Gaza get blown up as if it’s a spectator sport), then they could easily go into the multitude of bomb shelters that Israel has available for its people — at least for a few days. This is a major inconvenience granted. But a small thing to ask when the larger goal is going to be rising up to become the most noble admired and courageous country on earth in the eyes of the world overnight and most likely receiving a Nobel Peace Prize in the process.
 
 Imagine that: Israel winning the Nobel Peace Prize. And deservedly. Unlike US President Obama. That would really be something. It would turn the whole conversation upside down and I believe would change humankind forever. There IS an alternative to what Israel has chosen to do. They DO have options. Just for the record let it be here noted. Israel is not out of options. They are not being forced to kill hundreds of innocent civilians. They chose to. Perhaps out of fear. Perhaps out of habit. Perhaps out of ego. Perhaps out of ignorance and not seeing a bigger picture to the bigger picture. But it wasn’t their only choice. It isn’t too late to change this game.
 
 You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
 
 
 – Posted by The Ambassador



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Uncategorized an alternative to war, ceasefire, game changer, gaza, Hamas, Israel, Israel stops bombing Gaza, relabeling Israel, sympathy for Palestinians

Ed Hale and Nahal Mishel-Ghashghai — Bed Peace for Gaza

December 30, 2009

Ed Hale and Nahal Mishel-Ghashghai — Bed Peace for Gaza

 

How can we celebrate New Years Eve with respect for the recent violence and various humanitarian crises happening around the world? The Bed Peace project, featuring Ed Hale and Nahal Mishel-Ghashghai, a live performance art project for PEACE — acknowledging and paying homage to the anniversary of John and Yoko’s original event 40 years ago this year, and addressing modern times. What can we do in four days and nights if we focus 100% on creating more peace in the world? Let’s give it a try and see! During this critical time others are encouraged to take their own actions and post their own projects for peace to help spread the message. P E A C E is possible.

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Activism, Current Events, Human Rights, Music, Personal Life, Politics and Government, Religion and Spirituality activism, BED PEACE video, Chechya, China, Darfur, ed hale, gaza, Human Rights, Israel, music video, Russia

The Origin of BED PEACE 2008

January 17, 2009
The problem was how to celebrate New Years Eve respectfully with all of the recent violence, turmoil, and humanitarian crises happening around the world, especially the brutal battle going on in Gaza and Palestine. To do the usual party to party scene all night just didn’t seem appropriate at the time… considering… the idea just grew from there… from that original thought… Then it just came down to if we had the energy and the commitment to really do something. That’s what it always comes down to isn’t it? The idea was how much can we do if we focus 110% on peace in the world for four solid days and nights? That was the question.

Luckily I was with someone who, though she thought I was slightly mad, was willing to go along for the ride. That night of the day when we first talked about it I didn’t sleep a wink. I tossed and turned all night long. I kept getting up and leaning over onto this night table and scribbling notes onto scraps of paper all night because I was dreaming of this thing the whole time I was lying there trying to sleep, sort of half awake half asleep. It was rolling through my mind like a movie. All I could think about was ‘what if we do nothing? I mean, what if we just sit here and talk and do nothing and all these people are getting killed every minute of every hour?’

The next morning I was exhausted from not sleeping but also energized. Princess Little Tree made a comment over coffee “Boy when you do stuff you really do stuff, huh?”

“Well, uh, yeah, I mean, that’s how stuff gets done.”

“But this was just an idea you had and now it’s turned into this giant thing… and you’re really going to go for it?”

“Yeah I know. Sorry about that. But look, it’s either this, or we’re jumping on a plane and heading to Israel today to see what we can do. Cause I don’t think we can just sit here. I think I’ll go freaking mad if we do.”

Miraculously she agreed. She was actually the one who had made the comment “I just don’t think it’s appropriate to go to parties and celebrate on a night just because that’s what we’re supposed to do and try to pretend that this isn’t happening in Gaza. It feels wrong.” That comment shook me to my core. It was like someone was calling me to walk my talk.

Next thing we’re guzzling coffee and heading out into the city to go shopping and I’m carrying this giant shopping list I made that night in my sleep of all these things we would need. Posters, markers, balloons, flowers, candles, pajamas, flags of all the countries where there was conflict, food to keep us alive for four days… wine, tea, chocolate, extra batteries, film, it went on forever.

As with all things that seem providential or fated, it is hard to even remember the original impetus for the project, that singular moment of discovery… Looking at it now, seeing the footage, and remembering that we spent four solid days and nights doing nothing but working on this project to create peace in the world in whatever little way we could, that seems like an odd thing to say. But it’s true. It was certainly not planned.

There was the moment when we both had this realization that a night spent party hopping just didn’t seem right. And then another moment when we both discovered that recently we had seen something about the 40th anniversary of John and Yoko’s infamous first Bed-In for Peace. We were in a car or something. “WE could do a Bed-In you know,” I casually mumbled without looking over. Just staring straight ahead watching the hills and giant fir trees pass us by. “I mean, not invite the press or anything, it’s your home and all, but just make a shit load of calls, voice our concern, film it, learn as much as we can, share it with the world…” My mind began ticking from there… “We could pray a lot. We could meditate on peace a lot. We could take every action that we take for peace for a few days. Even celebrate peace… It’s better than not doing anything…”

What we did know was that the world was already starting to go a bit mad from these sudden attacks on the people of Gaza and we could see both sides. Smack dab in the middle. Plenty of Jewish friends who lived in Israel and plenty of Muslim friends who live in what will one day be called Palestine. There was no SIDES except the human side… and there was a lot of bloodletting happening on the human side. And people were going to get pissed. That was a given.

This was going to manifest as hundreds of angry tirades on YouTube and GoogleVideo and Facebook and MySpace and the news. Angry tirades never got anyone anywhere. It usually just leads to more death and violence. As angry as I was there was going to be no angry monologue into that YouTube camera. Not this year. We needed to rise above the whole thing. Attempt to transcend it without losing sight of the fact that it was really happening. That was the key. Oftentimes when we feel helpless around something, we do nothing. That’s too bad.

But the times they are ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changing…. more and more of us are doing things now. Taking action. Whatever it is. Young and old. The world has changed. People have changed. Humanity has changed. Busy or free, rich or poor, people are taking action. Barack and Michelle worked their asses off. But the people got them into the White House. I think that was a pivotal moment for much of the planet. I’ve got a whole roll of film I took of the freaking TV screen the night he won the election. I was in the recording studio. I didn’t know what else to do but just snap pictures of the TV as if aliens had just come down to earth from Mars or something. So I just took a ton of pictures of the television. Yes. That was a moment.

Things had been bubbling up for years from the underground. Activism had become hip again. Volunteering had become cool. Giving had become cool. It’s funny. This was the nature of a blog post I had written back in 2002. In fact it was the very first blog post I ever wrote here. It was about precisely that. http://www.tuneinturnonhelpout.org/about-us/

The theme of it, the reason I wrote it in the first place, was to say that we must find a way to make giving and volunteering and activism cool and to make people in the public eye feel foolish or ashamed if they didn’t partake. It isn’t enough just to live here anymore. We need to attempt at least to make it hip to do good things and to encourage — especially people of note and celebrity — everyone to do it. Regardless of what they have going on in their personal lives. I was tired of people coming on TV pitching their newest product. The magazines and tabloids all about what so and so was wearing to some gala or event. For what?

Well I obviously wasn’t the only one. Bono turned pitching products into an actual way of giving back with his RED campaign. One elegant bastard with that move. Bill Gates tells the story of witnessing Bono receive this epiphany over ten too many pints in a bar one night. And he then turns around and donates 20 billion dollars to various charities with his Gates Foundation. A few years later, in fact quite recently, Warren Buffet promised the Gates Foundation an additional thirty billion dollars of his own personal stock pile. Being rich and successful is no longer enough. In fact its downright dishonorable if practiced solely for fame and fortune. Giving has now become the in thing. The impetus for that original blog post back in early 2002 was my reading about Ted Turner giving away ONE BILLION dollars to the UN for humanitarian aid. One billion dollars. That seemed like a lot back then. Ted is a crazy old coot. But he’s a good hearted one. That was seven years ago. I’m still blogging in the same place. Same URL. And Ted Turner has now given away literally billions more dollars to charitable causes.

And yes things have changed. Immensely. As I was about to close, for whatever reason, the Bush-Cheney administration came to mind. “So where exactly do these buggers come into the picture if things have changed so much?” was the thought. I mean they don’t exactly fit with the picture we’re talking about do they? They seem almost shadows of an old world that most hope to forget about for a long, long time. But it reminded me of this theory that floats around in consciousness… it is something about the need for the opposite extreme to play itself out before we can boomerang back to a more balanced enlightened middle. Sort of that old adage “You’ve got to make a slight mess if you’re really going to clean things up.” This is just about the only thought that kept me sane the last eight years.

The idea that there were still a few people who actually needed to see some people really foul things up before they got on the bandwagon and we set about to really making the world a better place. So that takes care of that. It can’t get much worse than it is now. They certainly did their job. We’re left with one foul mess. But we have hope. Real hope. And we have a world, however tattered and torn and frayed and battered, that for once appears to be ready to unite to create real positive change for everyone from every nation. BED PEACE 2008 was nothing in a larger scope. We know that. But it was an action. Perhaps at this point that is all we can ask of ourselves… just to do something…. anything. Little by little we’ll get there.

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Uncategorized BED PEACE 2008 video, bed-in, ed hale, gaza, Israel, Labels: activism, palestine, peace, performance, protest, video

A private little world for me… a private little world for you. The online journals and musings of singer-songwriter author and activist Ed Hale. The Transcendence Diaries have been posting regularly online since 2001. Comments are always welcomed. And so are YOU.

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