Israel, Zionism, and the September protests

Deep Audit asks, concerning the upcoming worldwide demonstrations in September which will occur on on the third anniversary of the second Palestinian Intifada -

Is the protest in September, corresponding as it does with the Infitada, likely to be seen as an anti-Israeli anti-Semitic action?

The protests will be anti-Zionist (among other things), however that does not equate with being anti-Semitic or anti-Israel.

Zionism was a political movement that started around the turn of the last century, focusing on moving Jews to Israel. One of their slogans was “A land without people for people without land”. Think about that slogan. There already were lots of people in that land, they were called Palestinians. Yet the political movement of Zionism has always chosen to ignore their existence. As an example, Golda Meir as premier of Israel, refused to admit Palestinians even existed.

Israel would not exist without the support of the US. I think one can make a strong case that Israel was formed after WW II because the US wanted a strong ally in that area - so, the religious, spiritual idea of Zionism was used rather cynically I think, as a pretext for creating Israel as part of broad US geopolitical aims. And the links between Zionism and US Right go back to the early 1900’s, no joke.

Being anti-Zionist means one is opposed to the policies of the government of Israel, just as protesting the Iraq war means one is opposed to the policies of the US government. It most assuredly does not mean one is a bigot, though, of course, there are those who will try to spin it that way.

These upcoming protests are worldwide and multi-themed. The main ANSWER website headlines the protests as -

International Days of Protest
Against Occupation and Empire
From Palestine to Iraq to The Phillipines to Cuba And Everywhere

I’ve volunteered at ANSWER for a year now. They always say they are opposed to the Zionist policies of the government of Israel, never to the people of Israel, just like we here are opposed to the lunacies of Dubya, but not the people of the US. And my Jewish friends in ANSWER will be startled to learn some consider them anti-Semitic!

Links:
Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel
Jews against Zionism

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Phonecam helps foil alleged child kidnapping attempt

Police say a 15-year-old boy foiled an abduction attempt by pulling out a phonecam and snapping photos of a man trying to lure him into a car, as well as the alleged abductor’s license plates:

“The teen gave the evidence to police, who arrested a suspect the next day. “It’s surprising the kid had the presence of mind to use the technology under duress,” Det. Capt. Robert Rowan told The Record of Bergen County. A spokeswoman for Sprint, whose phone the boy used, said she had never heard of someone using the new technology to catch a criminal.”

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Your inquisitor awaits, Mr Blair

Hutton will quiz ministers, advisers and media

And the BBC is standing firm, saying they double-checked everything, and can prove the Blair government “sexed-up” the reports on Iraq. Blair’s government may well fall.

Would it be US media had that kind of balls.

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Rap boss Knight back in jail

Marion “Suge” Knight, the boss of rap label Death Row Records, returns to prison for 10 months for breaking his parole terms.

What’s interesting here is this story is front page on the BBC… 

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Turnabout is fair play

More email from the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel –

Inspired by the loss of his TV show to an angry outburst at a caller, here’s my attempt last night to provoke Michael Savage off the radio.

(Rough Transcript)

MS:  Okay, I wanna hear from you callers out there, the ones who were raised by leftist parents… all you red-diaper doper babies out there.  I wanna hear if you liked them, if they screwed you up, whatever.  Our first call’s from Justin in Los Angeles.  Justin, welcome to the Savage Nation.

Justin (S.P.):  Hi Michael.  I’m definitely one of those kids-of-leftists you’re talking about.  My father was very big into civil rights and poverty issues back in the sixties.  I hate to disappoint you though: he wasn’t really a hippie or anything like that, he was more a nerdy kind of activist, you know, the kind with short hair…

MS: Uh-huh.

Justin:  And I guess, ‘cuz he spent a lot of time trying to help out other people and causes and the like, he wasn’t really home all that much, or not as much as he could’ve been, and I know it must’ve had some impact on the family, but y’know what?

MS: What?

Justin: You aren’t fit to lick his boots.

MS: (enraged)  What?!  What the hell do you know about me?  What the hell do you know about anything?  You don’t know anything about me, about what I’ve done…  about my work in nutrition, in conservation… anything!  How would you know anything about me?

Justin: Well, I hear what you say on the radio…

MS: You don’t know anything!  You’re just stupid, like the rest of them, what do you know?

Justin: I’ve heard your mother still cries when you try to seduce her…

MS:  WHAT!  YOU BASTARD!  You FILTHY FILTHY BASTARD!  You just come here and say that!  You just come down to the studio… any time any place, I swear to god you filthy, filthy miserable leftist commie son of a bitch…  (etc. etc. for another minute or two…)

Since the show’s on a seven second delay I’m sure they cut my last line off the air, but there was no question he heard it.  Damn near had an aneurysm. Maybe next time.

I highly suggest you try this sometime: call into the Michael Savage show, talk your way past the screener and just say something intensely cruel to him.  You wouldn’t believe how satisfying it is.

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Cringely’s $2-Million Plan to Destroy the RIAA

From the NetSurfer Digest newsletter

“Robert X. Cringely can usually be counted on for a good read, and his July 24 effort ranks among his best. As we noted last issue, the RIAA is going after individual music downloaders, and Cringely remarks that the music labels, “fat, rich, and having everything to lose,” are trying mightily to bend culture to their will. His answer: a $2-million startup that he calls Son of Napster, or Snapster. Cleverly, Snapster rests on a solid foundation of US copyright law.

Snapster investors are owners of the company, which purchases one retail copy of every music CD on the market. The company owns these CDs, therefore the investors do, too. and under fair use provisions, the investors are thus permitted to make back-up copies of all or part of that content. With a business model of charging five cents per back-up and selling shares, Snapster seems like a valid proposition. If it takes off, RIAA will go absolutely rabid. Of course, some argue that they already have. Since the original piece, Cringeley has written a followup tweaking his plan and documenting reader reaction.

Cringely 1:
Cringely 2:

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Georgy for Governor

She appears to be serious, and has a blog too. 

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Repentant Nader Voter

…because Bush is so bad

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