bioneural.net » lebanon

Israeli Blitzkrieg: pure madness

Bruce — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 06:57:49 +0000

Last night the TV news showed pictures of a Red Cross team in Lebanon that had come under Israeli fire. This morning the BBC News reports that UN observers have been killed in an air strike targeting their observation post. More examples of how Israel is exercising "restraint" in this conflict. America says Syria has the power to stop the war, citing its support for Hezbollah. I say America has the power to stop the war by revoking its support for Israel, and by halting the supply of bombs it delivers with one hand while the other hand makes aid deliveries in Lebanon. How ironic is that? How shameful? Those who blow up innocent civilians to make a political statement are terrorists. By taking this disproportionate action or "sending a clear message" Israel has become what it professes to detest. This is state-sponsored terrorism which ever way you cut it. There is no moral right to destroy the infrastructure and fragile political stability of a neighbouring country in order to punish a minority behaving badly. Nor is there any legal right. Israel is in the wrong, yet it is unlikely to see prosecution for War Crimes. Is Israel going to pay reparations to Lebanon for the destruction wreaked on that country and its population? Not bloody likely. Hezbollah's rocket attacks against Israeli civilians are no less despicable. They're as bad as each other, and the leaders of Hezbollah and Israel have both failed their peoples. I don't claim enlightened understanding of the background to this ...

IOTW: Barrier in Beirut

Bruce — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 22:00:38 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

I recall being fascinated, in First Year Psychology, by Stanley Milgram's work on the psychology of obedience. My recollections are less vivid concerning the equally fascinating psychology of in-group and out-group behaviour. Whoever studied this surely inspired the lyrics in a song by Peter Gabriel (Not one of us): "There's safety in numbers, When you learn to divide, How can we be in, If there is no outside." Powerful words that describe prejudice and social cliques, and very relevant to the world this week. My notes In the last week Israel has used excessive force against its neighbour, Lebanon. It has decided to punish that nation for the offenses of a minority, claiming the moral right to defend itself by randomly killing (mostly) unarmed men, women, and children. Such is the nature of conflict, although this retribution is undertaken by a People that should know better and act differently in relation to random killings. It is sad to witness the Middle East in conflict again, as the TV networks lap up the fresh blood and do their utmost to sensationalize events. Alas Lebanon; you hardly had a chance to breathe and you are plunged back into chaos... We visited Lebanon in September 2005 (our journal is here), when things were somewhat quieter (that's a relative use of the word). As we walked about the city centre of Beirut, we commented on the high standard of the renovations and the evident effort that was being made to make good the damage done by years ...

Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan

Bruce — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 05:55:20 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

In September through October 2005 we joined a whistle-stop group tour of three Middle-Eastern countries: Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. Sat 17 We arrived in Beirut to a 27-degree welcome, enticing us to remove our UK-donned fleeces. Distant explosions were thankfully fireworks but this is not a ready assumption: a car bomb had exploded the night before our arrival. Zyad, our tour leader, escorted us to a small bus for transfer to the hotel. It was night when we arrived, and the cityscape looked not unlike a Turkish city but for the Arabic script mingled with the English and occasional French. Hotel Berkley was near the centre of town. The bus door opened to the distinct smell of sewage—not all together in keeping with the 6 stars above the hotel name. The man on reception told us, however, this was actually a 7 star hotel. With a cold beer on arrival, 2 bedrooms, bathroom, lounge and kitchen we weren't disappointed, but rather thankful it wasn't the 2 or 3 star (local rating) accommodation we had been expecting... Pigeon Rocks, Beirut Sun 18 The morning began with a city tour, initially by bus past the site where Ex-PM Hariri was killed in a car bomb. Adjacent to the Corniche in the Raouche area are the Pigeon Rocks. On foot we passed a number of fine-looking buildings that would not be out of place in any European city. Indeed, partly because of the familiar advertising brands, Beirut looks rather westernized. There were signs of the civil war (a ...