Explaining and reassuring the Australian public

On August 19th 2007, an oil tanker off the coast of Australia split in two, dumping 20,000 tons of crude oil.

Senator Collins, a member of the Australian Parliament, appeared on a TV news program to reassure the Australian public.

Politicians often think like Sen. Collins, but rarely do they articulate their thoughts with his directness and clarity.

Sure fire way to stop Qassam rockets

Israel's stated aim in its invasion of Gaza is to stop the rocket attacks. The practical way to achieve this is to have a ceasefire, and set up a for a third party trusted by both sides to patrol Gaza with units led by dogs trained to identify the odour of rocket fuel. They would be able to react to caches of Qassam rockets, which could then be confiscated and destroyed.

The Green Party has adopted the expanded use of dogs to pinpoint ammunition caches. This is proven tachnology (if dogs can be called technology) and is not expensive. Success with use of dogs in this application could bring forward the wider use of dogs in this role, and lead to a global reduction in the availability of ammunition in small arms and light weapons.

If the Israelis reject this option, it would provide evidence that their stated objective is just a cover for a wider agenda - namely, regime change. The Israeli Government says that it does not intend ot occupy Gaza, but their actions are calculated to destroy the democratically elected government of Gaza - so what is their plan? Another election? Is Fatah in a position to contest an election in Gaza? Or do the Israelis envisage a governmental vacuum, as in Somalia?

It seems that the action is no more thought through than the invasion of Iraq. It is simple to win a war, if you have military supremacy and you do not have any scruples about killing civilians, but to win the peace is a more complex matter.

Peace Demonstrations in Israel by Israelis

Gush Shalom - Israeli Peace Bloc

Brilliant article here. 10,000 demonstrators in Tel-Aviv. No mention of this on the BBC.

Pithy, powerful summary of the case for peace, accusing that the Israeli action is a vote-gathering game.

Israel/Palestine: what politicians needs, and what the people need

Given the current deep polarisation between the governments of Israel and Palestine, and the supporters of both parties, it might be useful to consider the difference between a people and their Government. They are not the same thing, even in an (ideal) perfect democracy.

Democracy aims to make Government to some degree responsive to the wishes of the people, but there are many layers of influence that separate the aggregate wishes of the people and the policies of their government. Israel is a democracy, albeit with a system that always seems to make the theocratic tendencies part of Government; and Hamas was successful in a democratic election; but these two Governments are not co-extensive with their people.

Opinion in the West is polarised between pro-Palestinian factions and pro-Israeli factions, more or less along predictable left-right lines; America supports Israel, therefore the Left has an inclination to dislike them (over and above Israel's unacceptable actions in ethnic cleansing and warmongering); the Left therefore finds itself on the side of Hamas, but Hamas is an Islamic theocratic movement, which would among other things, be into stoning "adulterers" and executing people who belong to the LGBT section.

I was criticised for giving a cautious welcome the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia for exactly this reason. The ICU brought peace to Mogadishu through imposition of Sharia Law. Secular democrats in Somalia who were critical of Sharia nevertheless preferred a pax Islamica to the terror of warlord anarchy. America disagreed, however, and gave the nod to warlords to go in and fight the ICU, thereby probably deferring the return of peace and democracy to Somalia.

Political alignments are therefore mightily complicated, and there is no simple solution to be had by simply making judgments on the basis of "our enemies' enemy is our friend". We have to think things out from the reality on the ground, from the viewpoint of the people themselves.

What do all the people in the Middle East need most of all?
They need peace and security. This means less warfare and less armaments, not more warfare and armaments.
They need adequate water supplies. This means a huge programme of water conservation, solar desalination and water harvesting.
They need access to land where they can grow their food. This means a massive programme of sustainable agriculture development, on the back of the new water infrastructure, and a huge programme of afforestation, beginning at the coastal areas.

These are the real needs. Instead of working at these needs, the Israeli and Palestinian governments are engaged in a mutual, stupid vicious circle of violence and destruction based on ancent religious ideology and a political argument about who has a right to live where.

This is not to minimise the importance of discussing and resolving these political problems, but in the end, what is more important, who has the title deeds to a piece of land, or whether that land is under sustainable cultivation?

Looked at from the point of view of governmental politics, the argument is infinitely complex, but looked at from the ecological point of view, there is a simple truth: basically, humans are designed to eat food, not bullets. Food needs labour, land, sun and water. IsraelPalestine has plenty of the first three, but is going to need some assistance to provide enough water - but it can be done - if politicians empower the people to become constructive, instead of indulging in their love of military technology.

Bush says Hamas to blame for the Violence being unleashed on Gaza

Bush says Hamas to blame for Gaza.
Hamas says Israel and Bush are to blame for the attacks.
Israel says Hamas is to blame.
Hamas says Israel started it.
Israel says Hamas provoke them to do it.

And so on and so on, an infinite regress, a regress ad absurdum, or more likely, a regress ad nihilo.

And all over the world commentators are pitching in on one side or other of this insane infinite regress.

Buddhism on the other hand wisely teaches that things arise mutually in a web of interacting causality.

There is no military solution to this mess. Israel is trying to destroy the apparatus of a hostile state, seeking a final solution to the problem of ideologies that deny the right of the Israeli state to exist, but in destroying buildings and institutions (such as they are) of Hamas, they are simply building more hatred that creates more attacks on the Israeli people.

The solution does not lie in explosives, it lies in people like the Shmimistim , Jewish Teenagers who refuse to join the Israeli Defence (occupation) Force, and OneVoice, which unites peace-seeking people from both sides of the divide. And Friends of the Earth Middle East who seek to unite communities in defending their environment.

It is said that when the Jordan closed over the heads of Pharaoh's pursuing army, the people of israel gave a great cheer. Hearing it, the angels in heaven aslo raised a cheer, but God rebuked them. "It is understandable and forgivable that the Children of Israel should cheer, because they are in the thick of it; but you are angels, and should be able to see that even Pharaoh's soldiers are also my loved ones".

Wisdom is the facility to take a wider view.

The Hedge Fund Implode-O-Meter - tracking the hedge fund implosion - leverage, speculation, SIVs, CDOs, arbitrage, interest rates, credit bubble

The Hedge Fund Implode-O-Meter - tracking the hedge fund implosion - leverage, speculation, SIVs, CDOs, arbitrage, interest rates, credit bubble

Useful link.

The New Year is the time when hedge funds present their accounts. Should be interesting.

Sea Shepherd Drives Japanese Whalers Out of Australia’s Waters

Sea Shepherd Drives Japanese Whalers Out of Australia’s Waters - Sea Shepherd

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship Steve Irwin has driven the Japanese whaling fleet out of the Australian Economic Exclusion Zone.

"We have chased the whalers for over 800 miles since last Saturday through bad weather and heavy ice conditions," said Captain Paul Watson. "They have fled eastward and they are continuing eastward and we are on their tail and we will keep on their tail."

Sea Shepherd are pretty much on a permanent D-notice because in the past they have been a bit rough in their direct action. I support non-violence, and Sea Shep now operate within non-violent parameters afaik, and I like them because they went out of their way to help with the campaign against (nuclear waste) sea dumping in the 70s.

Israel rejects Gaza truce calls

Israel rejects Gaza truce calls: "Mr Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni were reportedly opposed to the ceasefire plan [of a 48 hour truce to let humanitarian aid into Gaza], while Ehud Barak, the defence minister, was said to be inclined to examine it...a government spokesman, Mark Regev said that Israel was not looking for a "band aid", or something that would expire a month from now. But he said dialogue would continue. ..

A Hamas spokesman quoted by AFP news agency criticised the current international truce proposals as unbalanced. "The current efforts aimed at ending the combat and installing a ceasefire put the executioner and victim on equal footing," Fawzi Barhum said."

So what would put both sides on an equal footing? An equal number of deaths on each side? An equal value of destroyed property?

It reminds me of the Oliver and Hardy film where they take turns in smashing each others' vehicle, part by part, after a collision. Oliver and Hardy showed how absurd retribution is, but this is the political "reality" in Israel/Palestine. We are watching a group psychosis, a mutual interaction of anger, working its tortuous way across the land.

Israel wants to destroy Hamas' organisational infrastructure, because Hamas wishes that the state of Israel did not exist. Israel exists because the Nazis tried to destroy the Jewish people in the 1940s. They did this by putting the Jews first into ghettos, then into death camps. What is Gaza but a ghetto? The imminent invasion of Gaza, if it goes ahead, will be spun as a defensive war by the Israeli Government, but viewed as a pogrom by the Palestinians.

So hatred and anger is an irrational form of mutually reinforcing political interaction. The solution? First, to realise what is going on. Second, to realise that ideal perfection is not attainable. Third, to accept that irrationality and destructiveness are as much human traits as rationality and constructiveness. Finally, to recognise that humans are not predestined to act irrationaly and destructively: we can choose to act rationally and constructively.