Here in Canada the bloc

Here in Canada the bloc supposedly wants to split our country, still we accept their point of view and negotiate where needed.

Not so elsewhere!

We have had many hotspots over the decades where stupid people refuse to let other people live as they feel like.

Should we begin to feel sorry that these hotheads start a shooting war?
All we hear is like kids in a sandbox screaming; "he started it!'

When are people getting civilized?

Read a couple of articles

Read a couple of articles this morning on Norwegian medics working on wounded people in Gaza who have found traces of Depleted Uranium. The question has got to be asked why do the Israeli have to use Depleted Uranium on their ammunition? The Americans did the same thing in southern Iraq during the 1st gulf war; why? Read reports too during Israel's invasion of Labanon in the summer of '06; using Depleted Uranium, why? How come the mass-media can't ask that simple question to our political leaders?

I hope this isn't the Norwegian you are talking about . . .

http://mosquito-blog.blogspot.com/2009/01/reality-in-gaza-dr-mads-gilbert-of.html

Because he clearly is not an unbiased observer.

Expectations

Please do not expect to apply human values such as love, compassion, honesty, fairness or logic to this conflict.

Forget all that nonsense - this is a RELIGIOUS war.

Gray

THere ARE no unbiased observers over there. Absolutely everyone has an opinion, sometimes two or three. The only people who can afford to have no opinion live on this side of the Atlantic. And some of those have cheaply-held opinions anyway, informed by bias, anger, inflammatory prose, or out-and-out demagoguery, unmodified by facts, history or relationship.

Which are you?

With respect, ME2

This is no religious war. This is a war of ideologies, for resources. Religion has nothing at all to do with it except to provide covering fire for the analysts and flacks who spin the respective stories of the conflict to the rest of the world.

And I'm not sure about the values you mentioned, but one I'd consider important, even in conflict, has also gone MIA, and that is respect for the truth.

Jewish Peace Movement Growing

As a result of US imperialsim and their fateful decision to conquer the oil rich Middle East, it has become a significant flash point for conflict. This is critical to understand. Without the US investment, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would likely have resolved many years ago. But now, we have a convergence of US military and financial backing of a regime that has used it to defeat its enemy. Age old consequences of intermeddling with other nation states. Now, Israel is dominated by neocon governments and policies which moderates are unable to oppose. Much like the last 8 years in the US (and now under Canada's Harper).

The population of those who identify themselves as Jewish is modest (under 20 million). Without the backing of the US empire, Israel would operate under very different circumstances.

The strategy of accusing critics of Israel foreign policy as anti-semites is growing, sadly. But this is truly a red herring, albeit used ruthlessly by those who seek to support the current regime. The most articulate critics of Israeli foreign policy are the many Jewish peace movements, the most respected of which is Gush Shalom, headed by former Knesset member and former military officer Uri Avnery.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/index_en.html

Probably the best analysis of the relationship between US imperialism and right wing Israel is "The Israel Lobby" by noted academics John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. Like many, many critics of Isreal foreign policy, Mr. Mearsheimer is Jewish, and accusations of anti-semitism fall flat.

The propensity of accusing everyone and their dog oif anti-semitism is weighed, measured and found wanting in the superb "Politics of Anti-Semitism", a collection of well written essays, half of which are penned by, yes, Jewish authors. It can be found via the Counterpunch website.
http://www.counterpunch.org/

It is imperative that the public understand the rhetoric which is promulgated daily in support of the US-Israeli neocon policies. It's not about Jewishness. Its about war and imperialism and intolerance and fear. Its wrong. It needs to stop.

Great coverage of a pivotal issue effecting all of us.

Another Interesting Perspective

http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/01/the_worlds_pornographic_intere.php

I hope this isn't the Norwegian you are talking about . . .

Sure Dr Mads Gilbert is the Norwegian, and he's saying (to high praise in the blog you linked to):

"The Israelis are using a new type of very high explosive weapons which are called Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) and are made out of a tungsten alloy. These weapons have an enormous power to explode."

"these weapons will have a cancer effect on those who survive. They will develop cancer we suspect."

"The power of the explosion dissipates very quickly and the strength does not travel long, maybe 10 meters, but those humans who are hit by this explosion, this pressure wave are cut in pieces.

"This was first used in Lebanon in 2006, it was used here in Gaza in 2006 and the injuries that we see in Shifa [Hospital] now, many many of them I suspect and we all suspect are the effect of DIME weapons used by the Israelis."

Dr Gilbert is neither the first nor the only person to accuse the IDF of using DIME weapons.

DIME is not DU

I've read reports in the MSM of Israel using a small bomb that is described in wikipedia as using DIME technology so it seems this is true.

Anti Semitism Versus Reality!

Jeffrey J's comment points to the other reality as well.

"The strategy of accusing critics of Israel foreign policy as anti-semites is growing, sadly. But this is truly a red herring, albeit used ruthlessly by those who seek to support the current regime."

That other reality is that many who object to Israeli actions treat all Jews the same. Israel treats all Arabs and Muslims as potential terrorists and most Arabs and Muslims treat all Jews as right wing fundamentalist neocons.

The truth is that if the Arab/Muslim world that opposes Israel ever gets their act together, Israel will be finished. It is hard to have any hope that Israel will survive. Most of us Jews had relatives that died or survived in the World War II death camps and now we all watch again from afar as the world's only Jewish state continues to treat their neighbours with complete disdain, and thru their lack of integrity and compassion, they have made the whole world a more violent and less peaceful place to live.

The final solution?

Banish the fundamentalist Rabbis from Israel, and the fundamentalist Mullahs from Iran, and the world will become a safer place to live in.