Well, we would all appreciate it if yu would hop on over there and tell Saddy he's thru. Tell him he's not a nice guy and that yu want him to leave quietly so noone else dies. You can do the world this little favor can't yu?
What a shallow thinker! Of course the US has to protect it's interests ON THIS PLANET. WE HAVE TO LIVE HERE TOO! Quit living in a dream world. You'll be singing a different tunee when you pull that 3 ton gas guzzeling SUV of yours up to the pump and the sign says ..."Sorry ALL OUT. Call an ARAB for details."
WHO ARE YOU??!! DO YOU LIVE HERE IN THE US ENJOYING OUR FREEDOMS AND RIGHTS??!! SUCH AS TRADING FUTURES?? GET OUT OF *MY COUNTRY* IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT YOU PACIFIST !! WE DON'T NEED YOU!!
Gee, I think I sense a bit of sarcasm my friend. But tell me....what is it you think I am so wrong about? You disagree that there is a lack of essential freedoms in these arab states? Do you believe that there is tolerance for outsiders and non-believers in places like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Syria? Do you believe that they want to live in peaceful coexistance with Israel? Do you think that the use of children as suicide bombers and the targeting of Israeli children is to be condoned? Do you disagree that in western countries there is freedom of speech and religion, and in places like saudi arabia and Iraq there is not? How many candidates were in the Iraqi election yesterday? What was the consequence of NOT voting for Saddam?
"A man must believe in himself and in his own judgment if he wants to make a living in this business" WOW! WHAT INTELLECT!! WE ARE BASKING IN THE LIGHT OF BRILLIANCE HERE!! OH YES WE ARE ...THE PROOF ABOVE FOR ALL TO SEE!! ASTOUNDING! CREATIVE GENIUS PRESENT!! OH YEAH!WHO"D OF THOUGHT IT?? :eek:
One Thousand Israeli reservists have signed declarations that they will not serve in the Occupied Territories. Today, twenty-one of these refuseniks are in military prisons. The Spring IDF (Israel Defense Forces) offensive directed at Palestinian cities and refugee camps has involved the call-up of 31,000 reservists to reinforce the regular conscript units spearheading the attack. A growing number of reservists-well over 500 to date-have honored their signed declarations and notified their commanding officers that they want no part in a military crackdown on a helpless civilian population or in the attendant actions that constitute war crimes. Twenty-one are currently serving prison terms for refusal. More than sixty-five refuseniks have been imprisoned since the beginning of the intifada. Sergio Yahni and Itai Haviv are two of the refuseniks. On March 19, Yahni was sentenced to twenty-eight days of detention for refusing reserve duty in the Israeli military. Yahni, co-director of the Alternative Information Center, is a longstanding activist with the Israeli peace group Yesh Gvul. At his trial, he stressed that he won't serve with the IDF in any capacity as long as the occupation is in force. This is a step beyond the usual principle of "selective refusal," whereby refuseniks agree to be delegated to other noncombatant duties unconnected with the occupation. Following his trial, Yahni set out his objections in an eloquent letter to Defense Minister Benyamin Ben Eliezer: "An officer for whom you are responsible has sentenced me today to twenty-eight days in military prison for my refusal to serve in reserve duty. I did not refuse only to serve in the Occupied Palestinian Territories-as I have for the past fifteen years. I refused to serve in the Israeli army in any capacity. "Since 29th September 2000, the Israeli army has waged a 'dirty war' against the Palestinian Authority. This dirty war includes extra-judicial killings, the murder of women and children, the destruction of the economic and social infrastructure of the Palestinian population, the burning of agricultural fields, and the uprooting of trees. You have sowed fear and despair but failed to achieve your ultimate objective; the Palestinian people did not give up their dream of sovereignty and independence. Neither did you provide security for your own people despite all the destructive violence of the army over which you have responsibility. "In light of your great failure, we are now witness to an intellectual debate amongst Israelis of the worst kind: a discussion about the possible deportation and the mass killing of Palestinians. The failed attempt of leaders of the Labour Party to impose a settlement on the Palestinian people has dragged us into a 'dirty war' for which Palestinians and Israelis are paying with their lives. The racist violence of the Israeli security establishment, who do not see people but only 'terrorists,' has deepened the vicious cycle of violence for both Palestinians and Israelis. "Israelis are also the victims of this war. They are the victims of the irresponsible and failed aggression of the army over which you are responsible. Even when you waged the most deadly attacks on the Palestinian people, you did not fulfill your duty: giving security to the citizens of Israel. Tanks in Ramallah cannot stop your most monstrous creation: the desperation which explodes in coffee shops. You, and the military officers under your command, have created human beings whose humanity disappears out of desperation and humiliation. You have created this despair and you cannot stop it. "It is clear to me that you have risked all of our lives only in order to continue building illegal and immoral settlements.... For the past thirty-five years, the settlements have turned the Israeli society into a danger zone. The Israeli state has sowed despair and death both for the Palestinians and Israelis. "Therefore I will not serve in your army. Your army that calls itself the 'Israeli Defence Force' is nothing more than the armed wing of the settlement movement. This army does not exist to bring security to the citizens of Israel; it exists to guarantee the continuation of the theft of Palestinian land. As a Jew, I am repelled by the crimes this militia commits against the Palestinian people. "It is both my Jewish and human duty to resolutely refuse to take any part in this army. As the son of a people victim to pogroms and destruction, I cannot be a part of your insane policies. As a human being, it is my duty to refuse to participate in any institution which commits crimes against humanity." Captain Itai Haviv received a twenty-one-day sentence on March 14 for his act of refusal. Here is his statement, entitled "Black Flag." (The black flag symbolizes the soldier's right to disobey unjust orders.) "As a combat officer in the IDF, I have served all over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. I am not naive. There are times when you must kill in order to survive. On behalf of the state of Israel, I have chased children who threw stones at me. I have patrolled the alleyways of refugee camps. I have banged on their tin doors in the small hours of the morning. I have searched among mattresses for propaganda material. I have heard babies crying. I have hauled people out of bed to erase slogans daubed on walls. I have imposed curfews. I have dealt with Palestinian flags fluttering from power pylons. I have halted vehicles. I have confiscated identity cards. I have conveyed handcuffed prisoners in the back of my jeep. I have fired at rioters. I have halted hundreds of vehicles at roadblocks. I set up an outlook post on the roof of a cake shop in the main street of Gaza. The routine of occupation. Every day. Every hour. Thirty-five years. "I believed that this was a war of no-choice. After all, we had left no stone unturned in our pursuit of peace. "We have built over 100 settlements. We have sent 200,000 settlers to live there. We have lost soldiers, children, mothers. All for the sake of the security of the state. For the sake of peace. To stop the next suicide bomber. For thirty-five years, a black flag has flown over our heads, but we refused to see it. "No more. "Or, in Hebrew: Yesh Gvul. There is a Limit." Peretz Kidron is an Israeli writer and journalist who lives in Jerusalem. Kidron has long been active with Yesh Gvul and other Israeli peace and human rights groups. He is a former reservist, among the first to refuse service in the Occupied Territories as far back as the '70s.
Although Israel is an "advanced, industrialized, technologically sophisticated country," it "receives more U.S. aid per capita annually than the total annual [Gross Domestic Product] per capita of several Arab states." Approximately a third of the entire U.S. foreign aid budget goes to Israel, "even though Israel comprises just . . . one-thousandth of the world's total population, and already has one of the world's higher per capita incomes." The U.S. supports Israel's dominance so it can serve as "a surrogate for American interests in this vital strategic region." "Israel has helped defeat radical nationalist movements" and has been a "testing ground for U.S. made weaponry." Moreover, the intelligence agencies of both countries have "collaborated," and "Israel has funneled U.S. arms to third countries that the U.S. [could] not send arms to directly, . . . Iike South Africa, like the Contras, Guatemala under the military junta, [and] Iran." Zunes cited an Israeli analyst who said: "'It's like Israel has just become another federal agency when it's convenient to use and you want something done quietly."' Although the strategic relationship between the United States and the Gulf Arab states in the region has been strengthening in recent years, these states "do not have the political stability, the technological sophistication, [or] the number of higher-trained armed forces personnel" as does Israel. I think that this aid should be used to lower injustice in the world instead of helping Israel in prosecuting and perpetring more mass murders.. This is just disgusting and the american public should say NO to this stupid and criminal policy.
Of course may be this israeli is a left wing pacifist. But he lives there he knows what is happening and he is in jail because he does not want to serve a fascist army serving the fanatic settler and sponsored with billions of dollars by the USA.. He is not like you talking from NY and saying yes we should kill more arabs because they hate us. This is a real shame.. Instead of wasting al that money for backing new settlements, The US should be wise to use it in Africa or in Asia or even for the amercian public itself... Concerning your allegation about other religions in Syria, Iraq or Saudia. I already told you several times that in Iraq christian were still present and had their places of worship.. moreover their prime minister tariq Aziz is christian??? I think that at your age you should take some vitamins.. I cannot understand that you keep on posting the same lies and yet I already said that a thousand times... During easter tens of thousands of Jews come to morocco or tunisia where they have many saints and synaguogues.. Did you know that in morocco jews even had their own courts and law??? and that they used the jewish law as reference???? But may be you still want to think that all the non muslim are hated and non accepted in the muslim world. this is your right anyway