neurotic Iraqi wife
January 12, 2009
Children of Shoes...
A few days ago I had to attend some family lunch that my parents were hosting. I wasn’t really up to it but I had to go. As we sat down chitchatting, a few mobile phones beeped simultaneously. “Please donate to Gaza at such and such banks” One of the ladies read the message out loud. She then threw her phone in dismay at the table. “Why should I care about Gaza” She said “While my own country is suffering. What did the Palestinians do for us Iraqis when my people were getting killed by the hundreds” She continued. “Let them go to hell”
I was in shock. “But Khala (Aunti), these are humans dying, not animals. Surely you can be more compassionate” She had a very hard look on her face. She took out a cigarette, lit it, inhaled, then exhaled and shook her head and said “Neurotica, Iraqis are humans too. Do you know what they (Palestinians) did in Iraq? Do you know how the preyed on us when Saddam was in power. I don’t give a damn about these people. They elected their government so let them suffer the consequences”
Another woman joined in and said “She is right Neurotica. You know where the money is going? Its not going to the victims, it will end up in Hamas’s hands, and surely Hamas will buy weapons. All this is propaganda. No, not a single penny from MY own hard earned money is going there, Id rather spend it on the Orphans of Iraq. Half the millionaires in the Emirates are Palestinians, why don’t THEY help their OWN people?” Then she said, “Hamas don’t even care about their own people, theyre sitting comfortably in Syria and Lebanon while their people burn”
As I was about to voice my own opinion another lady said “You forgot what they did to our country Neurotica? To our People? They sent suicide bombers, they joined so called “Jihad” groups and killed hundreds even thousands of our people. They backed Zarqawi, that criminal man” Again as I tried to say something, a few teenage girls (daughters of another woman) announced they were leaving to join the protests. “What protests?” we asked. “There is a protest here in AD” They answered while they fixed their Palestinian scarves around their necks. The women rolled their eyes and shot the girls’ mother an evil look.
“How can you let them go?” The mother shrugged and said, its their choice, and I wont stop them. I just got up and left the table for I knew that the poor mom was going to be lectured. The conversation was already draining me. I went into the kitchen instead and stole a few of the yummy spring rolls my mom prepared and munched away.
To be honest the Palestinian cause was never something of a priority to me or my family. Ever since I was a child I knew of their war, of their suffering, but it was Iraq that I yearned for and not Palestine. Afterall it is Iraq that I was born in. Its Iraqi blood that I have running through my veins. And umm I dont believe in the so called "Arab Nationalism" shit. Anyone who says THEY are, are to me nothing but a bunch of hypocrites and liars.
Nonetheless, I dislike violence. I still think that the massacres in Gaza must stop. And stop NOW. This is probably going to be the last post I write on this subject. On another note, what happened to Iraq? The media has completely forgotten about Iraq. Maybe we should call back Al Zaidi to organize a shoe marathon. That will probably get their attention once again. Aaaaaah yes, atfal il hijara (children of stones) will soon be substituted by a completely different phenomena. A different group of children. Children of Shoes…
96 Comments:
As a german, i feel ashamed. Without us starting the 2nd world war, maybe israel would have never been. And maybe that would have given more peace to the middle east. Iam reading your blog, since i know it. I like the way you express yourself and show other people, who don't have to the chance, a perspective of your life. Thank you ! And may peace protect you !
NIW - I like the way your family/friends think! Finally...logic!
Marco- Wow. What a sincere & humble observation. The self-reflection is refreshing (Palestinians?), but it's not Germany's fault.It's been a problem for centuries. Babylonians, Persians, Romans, Ottomans have run roughshod through that area and have left it a mess. Besides the Allies were actually trying to RE-form Israel after WWI when the Ottomans lost.
NIW, do you know that some Gazans actually protested the killing of Zarqawi?
How do you feel about that, NIW? How did you feel about Zarqawi? Do you feel as strange as I do that the Arabs did not protest the mass murder of Iraqis as much as they've protested the Israeli bombing of Gaza?
Hmm Marco, funny thing is, i was thinking the same when all this Gaza mess started. But You know, no matter what, the Middle East is always filled with problems. If its not Israel then its Iran. If its not Iran, then its something else.
Julie, I guess I knew you'd agree with them. Wish you were there to listen to that conversation. I woulda served you some nice sweet Iraqi Chai :) And walked away
Muhannad, I know, and I agree that the arab jarab didnt stand by our side when we needed them, infact they fought against us, and yes, did kill us. The women in my post were right, but its a bit too much too extreme.I guess my eyes are going beyond nationality. Right now I only can see children and death. Besides, I would like to view myself as better than those who wished death upon us and who backed Zarqawi...
The same media made as if Saddam Hussein failed. Israel lacking corrosive bomb detail couldn't make front page hate? The ageless battle against Canaanite Pandemonium. The melting pot has moved north. Surrender only in a declaration of perversion? Amenhotep's Androgyny catapults from media effrontery? Then the Pyramid is truly in space.
Neurotica
This is completely off topic. However, could you help with a translation. How do I tell my COL, "I love you." in Arabic?
I told him ""ana ohiboka". Was that right? And if he said, "and same to you I'd guess with "ana ohiboka". What does that mean?
Thank you
NAW
Awwww NAW!!! Thats pretty cool. You're right about the "ana ohiboka" you're actually saying it in Classical Arabic. But should he answer you back, he should say "ana ohiboki". In Iraqi it sounds abit harsher. if you say it to him "Ahhibbak" he says it to you "ahhibbich" :)
Ya know NIW, if only we ran in the same circle.......we would be friends. I love reading your blog!
In North America there is quite the argument about the Gaza and Israel interaction. Some talk genocide while other talk of how Palestinians celebrated in the streets when 9/11 happened. I think no matter your location/religion/ideology people are starting to ask themselves serious questions of their views about things.
It would be nice if all the people that slither around in the background, were illuminated to see what they are all about, and their motives. One thing for sure, one of the first casualties of war, is the truth.
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Unfortunately, we tend to always remember what the extremists (whom are usually a very limited minority) have said and done and paint the innocent souls whom those extremists live amongst with the same paint and boy we, as humans, are so good at that! This applies again here. I do agree with you, civilians, children, women and old people who had nothing to do with Hamas should not be suffering the consequences of the actions of the wackos whom are using them as human shields. Reminds of how Saddam used to do back in the 1991 when he was hiding what I think were the chemical weapons in many big white brand new Mercedes trailers and used to park those over night in the alleys right behind my parents place and of course, you can do nothing about that but prey for the Americans not to spot and bomb those. Think of what would have happened to my family and me if those were successfully targeted by the Americans? For the Americans, we could have been just another collateral damage and for Saddam, just another Iraqi he could not care less about. We could have paid the ultimate price for the actions of two fighting parties that we had nothing to do with. I bet most of Palestinians are actually paying or paid that price and that to me is very unfair.
One small difference Leo, though I mostly agree with you. In your case, you never actually got a chance to decide for yourself whether you wanted Saddam to rule Iraq. The Palestinians had the opportunity to vote for somebody else, and they voted for Hamas. Does that mean they should be bombed? No. But it does mean that the civilian population in Gaza should think very carefully next time they have elections and decide if it is really in their best interests to re-elect a group that is going to put them at war with Israel again and subject them to being used as human shields against Israeli bombs.
If Neurotica bears a child her offspring will not be built a Jew. Without structure the children are barely at peace with her future. Declaring the state of mind Antisemitic is a weaklings fulfillment.Blinding hate or tears exalt the pasturage of the invisible. Succession of familiar contact now returns with a people who live to disintegrate. In Iraq the people trap their leaders. In example a weaker fulfillment, the declarative, "Paradise Lost". Milton's dampening of necessary precision. Compelling our roots, forgetful and coy.
In Saddam's sentence, "The host of too many "Kuwaiti ironies". Neurotica will have you none. In vesper's end the results of technological innovation. Order reigning murder upon everything. She only asks for a fist. That is all my Grandmother asked for. Not for striking, for something within. Godless matrimony of an arc and a line. Giant features from a desert. Paradise we will be speaking faster. Paradise will have this in writing. Everything is coming for them. Everything is already here.
Tex,
First, I am not a fan of Hamas and will never be. Why? Because I think that they are a bunch of hypocrites using the tormented masses for their political advantage.
You implied that the Palestinians should learn their lesson and not vote for Hamas on the next elections otherwise, they should expect to be bombed cause Hamas will get them into war with Israel! This is the very American idea of Democracy! Democracy of intimidation! Thanks for saving me the hassle of accentuating that. So, according to the American theory of democracy that they want to force down the throats of third world countries as a mask to steal and/or control the natural resources of these countries, you either elect our “friends and allies” and we’ll call you a democratic country and may throw some bread crumbs or you elect governments that do not agree with us and we will not recognize your government, call your country a terrorist country (or a member of the axis of evil or whatever name they will come up with!), we will do our best to alienate the whole country and it’s people, and we’ll start with economic sanctions that will do nothing but hurt the ordinary people on the street and not the governments by any way shape or form. I say that cause I saw that and lived through a decade of economic sanctions on my country “Iraq” and experienced, firsthand, how these sanctions ruined the lives of millions of ordinary Iraqis every single day and how Saddam was thriving and got even more control over Iraq cause people were struggling to survive and I mean a struggle. This is exactly what happened in Gaza. Gaza has been under total blockade and economical sanctions that Israel has imposed on Gaza even before Hamas came to power that made Gaza practically a big prison for people who live in this city and I would argue that this one of the main reasons why Hamas won the elections in a land slide cause people got fed up with Fatah and the way they were handling the blockade over Gaza.
One last note that I would like to make here, and it is addressed to you Tex and to all the bloggers who commented on the last blog supporting Israel’s invasion, it was Israel who broke the ceasefire on November 4th, 2008 by going into Gaza and killing 6 or 7 Palestinian militants at that point and I’m quoting the official website of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign affairs “Hamas, in retaliation for the Israeli attack then launched the missiles” also according to Ha’aretz, I quote “Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for the operation over six months ago, even as Israel was beginning to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Hamas”, check their Dec. 31st article. The main reasons for the Israeli invasion is in two folds; the first is to enhance what Israel calls deterrence capacity which in layman’s terms basically means Israel’s capacity to terrorize the region into submission after their defeat in July 2006 in Lebanon they (Israel) felt important to transmit the message that Israel is still a fighting force, still capable of terrorizing those who dare defy it’s words. And the second main reason for the attack is because Hamas was signaling that it wanted a diplomatic settlement of the conflict along the June 1967 border. That is to say, Hamas was signaling they had joined the international consensus, they had joined most of the international community, overwhelmingly the international community, in seeking a diplomatic settlement. And at that point, Israel was faced with what Israelis call a Palestinian peace offensive. And in order to defeat the peace offensive, they sought to dismantle Hamas. This is cause and effect with Israel being the cause but thanks to the American media who I can’t believe how biased their views are. Do you know that the number of the Israeli civilian casualties over the last 8 years of Hamas’s “piss-in-the-wind” missile attacks is 8 only! while 4,000 Israelis die in car accidents every year. The Palestinians have had 900 killed, 400 of them are children and women and counting over the last 17 days. How is that for a proportionate response? What is also interesting to see is the protests launched by Israelis themselves this time against the invasion! 400 arrested so far in Tel Aviv and many protests all around the world!
Every year, the United Nations General Assembly votes on a resolution entitled “Peaceful Settlement of the Palestine Question.” And every year the vote is the same: it’s the whole world on one side; Israel, the United States and some South Sea atolls and Australia on the other side. The vote this past year was 164-to-7. Every year since 1989—in 1989, the vote was 151-to-3, the whole world on one side, the United States, Israel and the island state of Dominica on the other side.
We have the Arab League, all twenty-two members of the Arab League, favoring a two-state settlement on the June 1967 border. We have the Palestinian Authority favoring that two-state settlement on the June 1967 border. We now have Hamas favoring that two-state settlement on the June 1967 border. The one and only obstacle is Israel, backed by the United States. That’s the problem.
One thing that the Israelis have to realize and that is military force cannot buy them peace. They can get as much support from the US as they could but that won’t guarantee Israel’s peace and safety on the long run. They may get away with it for now but not for long. I hope that Israel wakes up to this fact and start listening to the voices of peace cause I can't see the Palestinians going anywhere!
One last word of advice to all fellow American bloggers, please do make an effort to know what is really going on outside the American media as they are not objective. Not only on this issue but on most of the issues.
Leo,
You are exactly right about the American media. I refuse to call them reporters or the media anymore. They are nothing more than commentators who instead of reporting the "actual" news they bore you to death for hours with their opinions. I find out more from NIW's blog about what is really going on in the Middle East than I do from the American news sources. Of course if you want to fing out what is going with Britney Spears or Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, then by all means tune in to CNN or Fox News.
Ok Leo, two things. First, the American idea of democracy is not "elect our friends or we bomb you", it is "if you elect a party dedicated to war, you shouldn't be surprised when they get you into a war". I am not saying the Palestinians have to elect somebody that America or even Israel likes. I am saying that if they elect a group to represent them that is dedicated to making war on innocent civilians in Israel, that they should not be surprised when Israel responds. If you don't want war, don't elect a party dedicated to war to represent you. It is actually a pretty simple concept that applies to countries all over the world, not just Gaza. The American concept of democracy is that the people get to decide who represents them...but then they have to live with the consequences of their decisions.
Second, the cease fire was broken by Israel in early November? Ok wow...you must have missed the hundreds of rockets and mortars fired by Hamas in the first 10 months of 2008. Or were those actually unguided peace bombs they were firing at Israel? Did AlJazeera tell you it was all Israel's fault that Hamas never stopped firing rockets at any point during the 15 month "cease fire" or did you make that decision all by yourself? What you really meant to say I am sure is that the cease fire was broken because Israel decided to finally respond to the hundreds of rockets Hamas had launched during the "cease fire". The "cease fire" can be considered intact no matter how many rockets Hamas fires...but as soon as Israel responds, then they are responsible for breaking the "cease fire"? Is that how things work in your world Leo? See where I am from (and I am pretty sure this is how it works in most places)...a "cease fire" means that BOTH sides quit shooting. The first one to shoot at the other is reponsible for breaking the cease fire.
The reality of the situation is this...everybody knows that Hamas will never abide by any cease fire that is negotiated. Everybody keeps calling for a cease fire, but what they really mean is they want Israel to stop fighting...they know Hamas will never stop, and nobody involved seriously expects that Hamas will abide by any new cease fire agreement, because they have never abided by any previous cease fire agreement EVER! Israel knows that too, so they are not going to agree to any new cease fire until they have accomplished their objectives. A cease fire agreement that only applies to one side of a dispute is worthless, and everybody knows it except people like you, for whom Israel can do no right, and Hamas can do no wrong.
How about this Leo...how about if Hamas comes out from their bunkers under the Gaza hospital and puts on uniforms like a real military, moves their weapons away from civilian targets, and then attacks Israel. Bbecause you see...every one of those thing Hamas is doing violates the Geneva Convention. Of course, again, nobody expects Hamas to abide by the Geneva Convention...they are free to murder civilians in cold blood; use human shields; hide in schools, mosques, and hospitals; use ambulances to shuttle fighters and weapons around; fire rockets into residential areas; and send suicide bombers into areas crowded with civilians. But people like you can somehow ignore all of that, yet still find the gall to get mad when Israel wants to defend itself against those attacks. You ought to be ashamed of yourself Leo.
There are legitimate issues and disputes between Israel and the Palestinians that could be worked out in a few hours time if there were reasonable people willing to sit down and negotiate. People like BuJassem understand that the issue is complicated and there is blame on both sides and that fighting accomplishes nothing towards that end. But people like you Leo seem to never accept that. All you have eyes for is the wrongs of Israel, while the evil deeds of groups like Hamas are swept aside as inconsequential and unimportant. Shameful is what that is.
"First, the American idea of democracy is not 'elect our friends or we bomb you', it is 'if you elect a party dedicated to war, you shouldn't be surprised when they get you into a war'."
Sort of what I was going to say. When one democratic country intends to destroy another (as Hamas intends to destroy Israel), treating Hamas as an ally wouldn't really be defending democracy (you'd be defending Palestinian democracy but threatening, to a greater extent, Israeli democracy).
"Democracy of intimidation!" Leo
From what I understand the "Capital Space Pyramid" was designed to steal from the Father. A Man is changed into a Mechanism. A Mechanism changes back into a Man and then the "Space Pyramid" flees. Then a Pyramid becomes a runaway. Then sacrifice becomes an embarrassment.
Hello neurotic
Seems you your blog has become a center for self justified polar views. By some writings a person might wonder if you have picked up some paid propagandists.
I'm sorry to hear of your loss of your friend. I hope life is treating you well, and you have found a system for doing your work.
views are steps in a direction that can unify.
Tex et al,
I am not going to be degrading myself into a trash talk exercise. This is way below me. Having said that, I CHALLENGE you to prove that Hamas was launching missiles into Israel during the last ceasefire brokered by Egypt as of July through November 3rd when Israel killed 7 Hamas militants ad violated the ceasefire agreement for which Hamas retaliated. You have the whole World Wide Web on your side so go and knock yourself out! I will be very interested to see what you get.
Your primitive response reminded me of what Stephen W. Hawking once said "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge".
Have a good day, Tex!
Leo does this count?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MonthlyRocketHits.svg
You are right though..."The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge".
http://www.themediaoasis.com/Hamasrockets.htm
Ok Leo, there is a site that has its aim of taking your side...ooops...I mean Hamas' side in this argument. According to their careful research, between the time the cease fire went into effect on June 18, and the beginning of November, there were 37 rockets and mortars fired into Israel from Gaza. They make that sound so innocuous when they compare it to the thousands of rockets and mortars fired during the first 5.5 months of 2008, but lets do some math. That works out to about 8 per month, or 2 per week. So is 2 rockets fired into civilian areas per week really a "cease fire" to you?
That same article points out that Israel's "attack" on November 4, 2008 was not some random event to take out Hamas militants, but was instead, an attack on a tunnel being dug towards Israel. What was Israel supposed to do...let the tunnel be completed, let Hamas kidnap a soldier or allow suicide bombers to enter Israel from the tunnel, then respond? They attacked the tunnel, which killed 7 Hamas militants (which begs the question, if Hamas was observing a cease fire, why were they trying to dig a tunnel into Israel?). They immediately announced their purpose in attacking the tunnel and indicated that they had no desire for the cease fire to end. Hamas responded with 193 rockets over the next 3.5 weeks, showing their committment to peace and preserving the cease fire.
So lets get this straight Leo...Palestinians fire 37 rockets into Israel (approximately 2 per week), yet when Israel makes one...ONE! attack on what it deems to be a group preparing to stage an attack on Israel, suddenly the cease fire is over and Hamas is justified to respond with hundreds more rockets??? The 37 rockets and mortars mean nothing, but one attack on a tunnel by Israel means the cease fire comes to an end?
I hate to say it Leo, but that website that is taking the Hamas side makes the exact point that I made in my previous post. Hamas is apparently allowed to continue to attack during a cease fire and nobody cares...but if Israel responds, even with a single defensive attack, then they are accused of breaking the cease fire.
Go ahead and defend them Leo...tell me why Hamas is all sweet syrupy goodness and wouldn't hurt a fly if it were not for big bad Israel next door. Explain to us why 37 attacks against Israel don't cunt, but one attack by Israel does?
Excuse me everybody..."cunt" was supposed to be "count". I am quite surprised that it let the post through with that in there. Sorry bout that...
Cause I was gonna tell 'em it says, "cunt" right up there.
Gosh that is the very first comment that Edit_Mommies said that I could understand......without a Thesaurus or a Dictionary or a double Rum and Coke. Cool.
Walking in a bookstore in London one day I fell and tripped over a fellow in a wheel chair. I apologized profusely and gathered my senses. I fell right into the lap of Stephen Hawkings. How embarrassing. He is a very wise man and is correct...."The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". I've learned more from your Blog than any history book Neurotica. The more I learn, the more that I find out that I don't know. Thank you for the lessons of reality. NAW
Hey, Leo. I've seen you comment here a few times the last couple years and I usually like what you have to say. I'd be interested in your reply to those who think they've met your challenge. Is your opinion the same? Do you dispute the data they provided?
One last word of advice to all fellow American bloggers, please do make an effort to know what is really going on outside the American media as they are not objective. Not only on this issue but on most of the issues.
I'm always surprised to hear people say that. The American media doesn't match what the Arab media (or the European media, or whatever) says... and people assume that it is the American media that isn't functioning as it should. Does it really make sense to you that the media in a closed and strictly regulated society would be more reliable and more unbiased than the media in the most open society in the world? Not much I can say about that.
I'm still trying to figure out what's up with the European media, though. I don't even recognize my own country, when I see the Europeans describing it.
We have the Palestinian Authority favoring that two-state settlement on the June 1967 border. We now have Hamas favoring that two-state settlement on the June 1967 border. The one and only obstacle is Israel, backed by the United States. That’s the problem.
Has Hamas renounced its founding charter, then? Because if an Islamist organization that swore to God (in it's charter) that there would be no peace until Israel was destroyed, told me they'd be willing to settle for 1967 borders, I wouldn't believe them. I'd think they were trying to scam me into making huge concessions, and then they'd want more... and when I refused, they would use that as a pretext to continue doing what they swore to God that they would do.
from my childhood, i have been listening to the Suffering of people in Palestine,bosnia,kashmir,africa etc and i have always had a soft corner for the people of these areas. so palestinians are suffering and we should at least pray that their sufferings are over soon ( if we cannot do anything practically ............).
3 of the students of my uni have lost their family in GAZA. it is indeed heart breaking to know that there is no one left in ur family and u cannot do anything about it.
NAW, maybe your a robot?
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK FOR THE LEO AND TEX SHOW!!!
Edit_Mommies, Maybe Mary really didn't have a lamb, and it never really did follow her to school one day,....Maybe all those words just 'sound good' together, but really make no sense at all? NAW
But honestly, Edit_Mommies, I enjoy your comments and I look for them every time there is a post. You are smarter than this Robot.
Dude, ...Subtle Psychological mind games went too far,... so I've been using this woman as a public record of my existence.
OK,,confession time. I've been blogging under my wife's name (Julie). Not because of concealing my identity. It's a little more simple than that. She had a Google account and I didn't, so it was just easy (lazy?) for me to use it. But I just made my own account and am ready to go! I showed her all my posts and she agreed with them, so no harm done, but NIW, I'm really a man named Dennis. Julie's husband. If you click on my blog you can see us both. Love your blog.....
This is a great post, great for its honesty and its humanity. I wish it could be read by millions, if not billions.
I wonder if you've had a chance to read this?:
http://www.signandsight.com/features/1813.html
Oh Edit_Mommies......I just can't resist.....AFter this, I promise I will shut up and go to bed and tomorrow I will learn to knit....., but in response to your above comment -
'...and Everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go' (for his public record..........I guess.)
Tomorrow is a new day Neurotica. I miss my lover. You know he wouldn't respond to English, that MR. tough guy, but he did reply when I told him, "I love you", in Arabic. Ironic isn't it? NAW
Julie...Aka. her husband....What is a Christian Plumber????? Does that mean I'm a Christian tax specialist?
This is way too much thought for one night. I crave curry.
Anon,
Depends...are you a Christian? Are you a tax specialist? If yes....then yes you are!
Tex and Programmer Craig (will call you PC form now on for ease of reference),
A few things that I would like to highlight and/or re-iterate here and this will be an aggregate response to many abovementioned points;
1-When I said that Israel broke the last ceasefire, I meant the “last” ceasefire. I was not talking history here. I hope this is clear now.
2-You mentioned that “According to their careful research, between the time the cease fire went into effect on June 18, and the beginning of November, there were 37 rockets and mortars fired into Israel from Gaza”. Well, I don’t think that this website was at all biased towards Hamas. Why? cause below you’ll find a link to a document issued by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center named “The Six Months of the Lull Arrangement” dated Dec. 17, 2008. This document is issued by an Israeli institute, obviously! And is telling a story from the Israeli side yet it made it clear that Hamas was careful to maintain the ceasefire. You will find that if you go to the Summary, clause 4i, page 2 which states “A period of relative quiet between June 19 and November 4: As of June 19, there was a marked reduction in the extent of attacks on the western Negev population. The lull was sporadically violated by rocket and mortar shell fire, carried out by rogue terrorist organizations, in some instance in defiance of Hamas (especially by Fatah and Al-Qaeda supporters). Hamas was careful to maintain the ceasefire. The IDF refrained from undertaking counterterrorism activities in the Gaza Strip, taking only routine defensive security measures along the border fence. Between June 19 and November 4, 20 rockets (three of which fell inside the Gaza Strip) and 18 mortar shells (five of which fell inside the Gaza Strip) were fired at Israel”. I think this should close the argument about who broke the ceasefire. Here is the link;
http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/hamas_e017.pdf
3-I have said that before and will re-iterate that I am not a fan of Hamas as you have suggested many times. I just focus on facts and when I see any facts being twisted and bent to justify the killing of hundreds of women and children, I find it mandatory for me, as a human being, to at least point out the truth, the real truth. Whether you like that or not is really of no concern of mine.
4-Many commented on the democracy of intimidation statement that I have made in disapproval. Well, if you don’t agree with me on this one and you want to know more about the US ways of “spreading democracy” around the world, I will be more than happy to do so. It just won’t be here as that is one of these big subjects that have a lot of resources and details about and will need another place to write about it.
5-This is to PC regarding his statement “I'm always surprised to hear people say that. The American media doesn't match what the Arab media (or the European media, or whatever) says... and people assume that it is the American media that isn't functioning as it should.”. Well, I have not mentioned Arab media. In fact, I don’t even watch Arab media myself believe it or not. I just know that the majority of the Americans rely on the likes of Fox News and CNN as their main source of information of what is going on in the world. And as a man who takes time to at least check other sources of news when something sounds fishy to me, I have learned first hand that the American media often have a completely different/inaccurate views of the world news than the rest of the world and, sometimes, they have no coverage at all! You may disagree but this is based on my own personal experience. I am not saying that you are one of them, I hope not but it is an observation that seems to ring true more frequently nowadays.
6-Again PC, you mentioned “Has Hamas renounced its founding charter, then? Because if an Islamist organization that swore to God (in it's charter) that there would be no peace until Israel was destroyed, told me they'd be willing to settle for 1967 borders, I wouldn't believe them. I'd think they were trying to scam me into making huge concessions, and then they'd want more... and when I refused, they would use that as a pretext to continue doing what they swore to God that they would do”. Well PC, how would you feel if somebody comes to your home, kicks you out by force (he has a gang and connections), and after reporting that to the police, you get totally ignored cause the man is well connected as mentioned so, faced with the fact, you move to a neighboring piece of land, build another home and after a short while the same man comes again and kicks you out again and forces you to move out again to another piece of land! Not only that, this man builds a high wall around your house this time, but also puts a bunch of thugs on the only door that leads in and out of your home making it impossible for you to even go visit your friends and family keeping you in complete isolation and when faced with that, all you can is ask for your second home to be given back to you (forget about the first one for a moment!). Ironically, when you tell this man that you no longer want your first home and you will accept that you lost it forever and all you want now is your second home, this man thinks you’re trying to trick him, deceive him and that he feels that he is making huge concessions!!!! Now does that ring a bell or even make sense? The unlimited support of the US to Israel does not make Israel right. When Israel supporters despair over Israel's agonizing choice – accept the falling rockets or face condemnation – they leave out another option: end the occupation!!! Israeli spokespeople say they'd like to do this, but insist they can't negotiate with terrorists, kinda like what you are suggesting, however, the evidence suggests that may be the real obstacle is that Israel doesn't want to give up the land it's been occupying. Certainly, Israel has moved in the opposite direction, allowing Jewish settlers to take over large swaths of Palestinian land. There are now more than 250,000 heavily-armed Jewish settlers living in the West Bank where a future Palestinian state is slated to be. They have made it clear that they intend to stay. Indeed, for the past 40 years, there have been two sets of developments going on simultaneously in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – one under the glare of public attention and one largely off camera. In the spotlight, there have been peace negotiations, interrupted by bouts of violence. Meanwhile, well out of sight, is the inexorable takeover of Palestinian land by Israeli settlements, effectively removing the possibility of a peace deal. I would also suggest that the failure of moderate Palestinian factions (as seen by the US and Israel) like Fatah to make any progress on the land front, or even to halt the settlements, coupled with the Gaza siege is the main reason that led to the election of the more militant group Hamas in 2006. So, as is usually the case in politics, if one position that you have brings you to power you stick to it even if you believe that it is not right cause at the end of the day, it is power that is at stake and we all know that everybody fights for it no matter what is the price.
7-This will be my last comment on this issue. I have a professional exam coming and I will have to devote my energy to it plus I feel like we’re taking advantage of Neurotica’s hospitality to discuss issues that were not covered by Neurotica’s blogs which feels weird to me. It’s like inviting new people for the first time for a discussion only that you invite them to another friend’s house and not yours.
I hope we have all learned something out of this rather long discussion. Cheers!
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hi Leo,
I won't comment on the issues you addressed to me, since you said you didn't want to continue with the discussion. Thanks for the reply :)
Question, though: What media do you rely on? I'm limited to English (because it's the only language I'm proficient enough in to understand a news article) so I usually read the BBC website every day. I have to say, I consider them to be one of the most blatantly dishonest media sources I've ever encountered. Which is kinda the reason I read it, perversely. It's kind of strange and freaky about watching people who consider themselves to be very important journalists committing such obvious ethical transgressions against their own profession. CNN used to be like that too, back in the 1990s. Not sure what they are like now, since I don't watch CNN anymore... hopefully, at least a bit better!
I was hesitant to post the link below to a video of an interview with Professor Noam Chomsky but on second thought I decided to do so. Professor Chomsky is "the most cited living author" and ranks just below Plato and Sigmund Freud among the most cited authors of all time. The New Yorker calls Chomsky "one of the greatest minds of the 20th century". This video will shed some light on US foreign policy and in a way relates to my statement about the democracy of intimidation and media bias. Try to keep an open mind and I hope it serves as an informative piece of media! Watch both parts please.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CKpCGjD8wg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB1q2tdb-Gw&NR=1
neurotic_wife, we have no obligation to sympathize with Palestinians, while Arab-hating Israelis are among the biggest shits in the world most Palestinians are the same, shitheads.
Palestinians lived in our country, our country feeded them, gave them shelter and food, education and a life and they responded back by killing us and supporting murderers. Do I support the killings of Palestinians? Not at all and I wish for the war over there to end but it has nothing to do with us and should never have anything to do with us at all. We have enough trouble with foreign scum in our country, on one side we have the so called "insurgents", both homegrown and foreign who disregard the situation in Iraq by killing anyone who oppose them, on the other hand we have the other murderers, the U.S and many of its allies.
Let me say also one thing, generally we've been treated like shit by neighbhouring countries, if anything our country has continously been taken advantage of and betrayed over and over again by our so called "Arab allies" and our so called "Shia allies" in Iran. We're surrounded by a-holes.
So its enough of this Islam-Arab-Sunni-Shia sympathy bullshit many have (not you though), Iraq is Iraq, what we need to do is kick out foreigners from our country, build a strong nation like we did in the past (aka empires in ancient Mesopotamia), once our country is stable and have enough power its good and if anyone then dares to even interfere with us the enemy will be attacked without hesistation
The only neighbhouring country we could take advantage of as an ally is Iran, we have our share of similiarities with them wether we like it or not. Good things could happen if Iran and Iraq would be strong allies, cooperating with them wouldn't hurt us, and it woudln't hurt them..that is until us and them have a good government and not a barbarian government full of shit (Iran) and a barbarian government constantly kissing U.S and Irani arse (Iraqi government).
A strong, stable and well-developed Iran controlled by its people would be in our best interest, there's alot we could learn from each other, too bad that the same thing can't be said about our Arab neighbhours.
Leo.......
Are you serious?! You're going to use Chomsky as a source???!!??
I was wondering how you've become so un-informed. Now I see. Whatever credibility you had before is gone. If you think Chomsky has "one of the greatest minds of the 20th century" as the NYT does, then I can't take any of your posts seriously.
For those that don't know:
Noam Chomsky is a professor at Massachussetts Institute of Technology. He is THE sterotypical goverment employee communist professor. Because of that he's become a miserable, hate spewing, traitor. If he had to work in the private sector he'd die. So he attacks Capitalism, America, Business owners, etc.
Some of his great acheivements:
1. He was one of the chief deniers of the Cambodian genocide. You know, the one where communists freaks killed 2 MILLION people because Congress defunded the Vietnam war (just like they wanted to do in Iraq) and America had to withdraw its troops (sounds soooo familiar). Some 15 years later with indisputable evidence in his face he had to admit it. But of course America was to blame. (What Uncle Sam Really Wants, Odonian Press, 2002, 59.)
2. He hates Israel: Supported Robert Faurisson, the Anti-Semite (Like some of the posters here). Professor Chomsky wrote a preface to a book by Faurisson defending his "free speech". What free speech? Google: Robert Faurisson, "World Famous Professor Says from All His Research Nazi Homicidal Gas Chambers Did Not Exist," Rense.com, July 18, 2004.
3. While bodies were still being pulled out of the rubble of the Twin Towers, Prof. Chomsky was dismissing the atrocity as dwarfed in magnitude by Bill Clinton's missel attack on a (pill?)factory in the Sudan following the bombings of two US embassies by al-Qaeda, in which no one was injured.
4.Went to communist Hanoi with the likes of Jane Fonda to make speeches of solidarity with the commies, whose heroism he believed revealed "the capabilities of the human spirit and human will". (Anders Lewis, "Chomsky's Stainist Arguments," History News Network, April 9, 2004)
5. Denounced every president from Wilson to FDR to the Great Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton. Of course you must know what he thinks of "W". But to qoute- "they've all been either outright war criminals or involved in serious war crimes". (Keith Windschuttle, "A Disgraceful Career," The New Criterion, Vol. 23, No. 1, Sept. 2004)
Basically, whatever evil exists in the world, the United States is to blame.
All this and more. Why? Because he's an self-serving, communist, Anti-Semite, America hating even though America has given him everything he has, idiot.
And oh yeah, I've got his book "Failed States" and I can't get through 3 pages because of his ridiculous thought process.
What a great teacher to learn from.
"for his public record..........I guess. " - NAW
NAW, I agree Human Genitals are not as interchangeable as the direct contact of words and imagery. I know why you talk. You have a great big vagina. 666 vagina's that hate the color green.
Dude......you're gross.
Ridiculous imagery is gross.
great post dude! like reading this blog
Colored vinyl was not commercially distributed. Records are traditionally black. The composite material used in both color varieties is similar. The colored vinyl sounds the same and maintains an equal shelf life. I learned to read with my parents record player. They had story book accompaniment offered with 5" and 7" records. NAW creatively referenced, "Mary had a Little Lamb". I had "Mary had a Little Lamb" in my own Plastic record collection. I even had my own record player for plastic records. "Mary had a Little Lamb" was probably on the red plastic. I like red and blue. Blue was "Twinkle Twinkle", I pee and think about blue! That's fucking gross, I'm a little kid. That joke will get you kidnapped. The amazing thing about those plastic records was the inscribed modulated spiral groove. The groove on plastic toy records was similar to Braille. "They" then preceded to teach me about Helen Keller. I had to help Helen Keller. I was a little kid, my nickname was "The Rapist". Anyway big lady would routinely remind me that Helen Keller had died. I was so upset by this fact I couldn't play with white girls. Helplessness is the most degrading form of social control. White girls are so fucking stupid. Like the colored vinyl, the long run is they all live on a shelf. You know records are food for Hippos. Do you know where the hippos go? Too fucking dangerous, alligators love hippos. They market addiction as the witch trial of Helen Keller. All the white girls go live in the forest and we throw sticks for them. Any means necessary a white girl will try and make you feel helpless. You have to take a piss all over them. Have you heard twinkle, twinkle little star? Good and the opposite of evil.
Ridiculous imagery is shallow.
Peacefulness was considered emotional retardation.
"was".
This comment has been removed by the author.
I wouldn't be too quick to call for a generation of shoe-throwers. Mr Al Zaidi may have done a brave thing, but his own actions are proof of how little people care about Iraq now. Isn't it rather sad that on the day that five brave Iraqi policemen were killed by a suicide bomber, all the Arab & Western media cared about was a man throwing a shoe?
http://riverscrap.typepad.com/home/2008/12/iraqi-shoethrower-steals-limelight-from-suicide-bombers.html
you have some great insight. i stumbled upon your blog and just wanted to share this list of sweet valentines ideas that are super simple and really out of the traditional (chocolate) box.
1.Write love notes to one another, even if it’s just the word “I love you” Leave them where your partner will find them during the day.
2. Share a romantic meal. Prepare it together. Put candles on the table. Dress up. Play your favorite music. Unplug the phone and enjoy each other.
3. Give your partner the day off. Do your partner’s chores for the day. Let them do whatever they want for the whole day. When they get home, they’ll be ready to thank you.
4. Be spontaneous. Do something fun and silly, enter a kissing contest, like the Netflix Greatest Kiss Contest.
5. Find yourselves a new hobby, a chance for the two of you to spend time together . You can try a couples sports league, cooking workshops or dance classes.
6. Pack a picnic complete with candles and wine and take it to a rooftop for a romantic midnight rendezvous.
7. Give your Relationship a fresh start with a fresh coat of paint. Redecorate your bedroom to be more inviting and have an incentive to spend more time there.
8. Go on a second honeymoon. If getting out to a tropical island isn’t a feasible option, no problem....just check into a nice hotel one weekend, for some room service, relaxation and romance.
9. Embrace your inner teenager and do something fun....go to a theme park, stay out all night dancing or go to a midnight movie.
10. Exchange gifts, but set the rule that it has to be something homemade, like a mixed tape or a card. That way it will come from the heart and mean much more.
riverScrap, generally news about Iraq in the west are only spread widely if it has really SOMETHING to do with the west, something affecting it in a very strong way, otherwise people could give less shit about Iraq.
Other arab countries...kind of the same, they need something to be proud of because the dipshits aren't strong enough to do anything by themselves, that and in the end those guys are just like the western world, they don't give one shit about Iraq.
Al-Zaidi rightfully deserved all all the good attention he got, too bad Iraqis sacrificing their life thanks to an occupation that fucked up the country doesn't get the same attention.....at least in the arab countries!!!
The fact that most of the western world don't care about Iraqi life and don't find any value in it is pretty much self-evident when news about U.S soldiers killing a puppy by throwing it to death gets more attention and widespread coverage then dead Iraqis. In other words animals are more important then human lives, as long as it isn't westerners dying. Wow...damn tha does remind me of Iraq's neighbhours...except the animal part.
Anon - I wish you were wrong, but you're correct about how the media works. Western news organisations cannot survive unless they cater for their audiences, and after years of hearing about daily suicide bombings the western public is simply bored of the subject.
Its totally sick that footage of a puppy being killed receives 10 times more coverage than news of human lives being lost. That's just the nature of the business sadly :(
Martin, it reminds me of the Jordanians, remember the bombings in Amman back in 2005? It was tragic and it led to big protests in Jordan against those criminal terrorists that did it. Where was this voice during all the bombings that have happened in Iraq? Nowhere, no protests whatsoever, no support for us whatsoever. One would think that Arab countries are somewhat better then western countries for Iraq due to common religions, history, language etc, and while one could say that middle eastern people definitely sympathize much more with other middle easterners...then say what a westerner would do it doesn't excuse the fact that suicide bombers or so called "insurgents" seem to be somewhat of a natural thing to neighbhouring countries.
Its funny, many of these countries benefitted greatly from having Saddam in power (at the expense of Iraqi lives), Iraqi soldiers were the one who were sacrificied in the Iran-Iraq war that so many Arab countries were afraid of yet the Arab countries were among the first one to point their middle finger towards Iraq as soon as it got occupied.
So I'll say it again to NIW, we have no duty whatsoever to sympathize with Palestinians, the fact that many of like to put Saddam on a gold pedestal makes me want to think something like that Israel is God's punishment for Palestinians. Disgusting? Yes but who started? Not us.
Anon: perhaps you're justified in withholding your sympathy for the Palestinians, but by doing so all you are doing is perpetuating the cycle of inter-Arab antagonism.
Instead of saying "The Palestinians never helped us, why should we help them"; why don't you just say "It's abhorrent when people die in bombings, no matter what country they live in".
I keep my humanitarian empathy totally separate from my politics. I think that's the best way to go about things.
We already helped the Palestinians, what did we gain from that? Nothing good for sure.
Most Iraqis always sympathize with Palestinians and are against killings of innoncent civilians, while most of us (don't count me in) were "suffering" with them as brothers & sisters they were kissing Saddam's feet while he was killing US under his rule. I've seen Palestinians protest against things done to Iraq, among them the American invasion, and sure I'm happy for that but where are the protests against Saddam? They are nowhere to be found, as Saddam is a f*cking saint to many of them.
I'm treating them the same way the treated us. Do I agree with people being killed? Not at all. Should I show concern for indisriminate bombings of civilians? As a human yes, but as far as I'm concerned humanity between Iraqis and most foreigners ended when people made the conclusion that Iraq is nothing more then a ground for experiments (this goes for both Saddam supporters and those in support of the invasion)
It sounds like what you're advocating is "eye for an eye" - which is the same mindset that perpetuated so much of the violence in the Middle East.
Difference here is that most of us never supported the ones who kill them, meanwhile they supported the one who killed us directly (also indirectly to be fair and honest).
Ohh...Interesting blog, if you looking Dubai Real Estate Property, you can go there.
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Blood will continue to flow on that land as it has been earlier said by the FINAL PROPHET Mohammad (PBUH) so you cannot do anything about that except to pray and ask for ease ..
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Romans, Ottomans have run roughshod through that area and have left it a mess. Besides the Allies were actually trying to RE-form Israel after WWI when the Ottomans lost.
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Well this is a nice blog to read about an Iraqi wife. I am glad to read this blog first in the morning. I hope you post many blogs like these.
In our daily routine let's include time to enjoy others and thus ourselves. Look and wonder at the trees, fields and mountains, smell the flowers, hear the birds, and watch the clouds in the sky but wife is main part of our life.
Very touching post. I could not agree more people dying this is not good and does not make sense.
There will be one day when we can say we are all living in peace. May that day be soon.
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Lately I have been thinking that these lands Israel and Palestine occupies are holly lands. How come they be holly lands if the suffering and blood shed has not ended there for thousands of years?
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i agree that sometimes the government use the people to take advantage during the way. that is why sometimes its better to donate food and clothing rather than giving money to them. with food and clothing they can't buy armories.
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great post. I never delved into all the history related to the middle east until it became mainstream media. Well, i know there's a lot that is not reported but what was shown was enough for me to dig deeper. I love your blog and respect your articles.
The reason the holy lands are in a war between Israel and Palestine is the war has never stopped there since thousand of years.
But, here is thing, as far as I know, some relatives of a Prophet is killed there, if I am right. Ans since the, the war never stopped.
I agree with you guys. I also heard something like that. I will look into it..
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