The price of right?

Regardless of the intent of Hezbollah in taking Israeli soldiers, the intent of Iran and Syria in backing Hezbollah and the right of Israel to defend itself, the bigger picture of this back and forth is one of diminishing returns long term. Israel now has the mind set to hopefully cripple Hezbollah or at least get their rockets and Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon where they aren't nearly as much of a threat, but in so doing Israel has undertaken a strategy which I fear falls right into the hands of all those who hate Israel, the Zionists. Every Israeli bomb that explodes in Lebanon seems to kill civilians, and every time that happens a whole new generation of revenge is born. On top of that the haters of Israel are smiling, knowing how Israel's reaction is playing in the Islamic world. They can envision future generations of jihadists eagerly waiting to take part in their war on infidels.
On top of that our government in the United States has been disengaged from the politics of the region since the current administration took office, yet President Bush blindly supports Israel's right to defend itself. Yes, Israel does; but there we are unhesitatingly, unwittingly even, taking Israel's side without publicly addressing all the other issues that are involved in the situation. So in the eyes of the Arab world, much of whom already wishes us harm, there we are taking Israel's side again as if no one else in the region mattered.
There is no easy solution to any of this, but I for one fear that bombs over diplomacy will again hurt Israel and the United States for generations to come.
Middle East Israel Jihad LebanonHezbollah President Bush Iran Zionists peace bombsdiplomacy infidels Syria revenge

Middle East...new story, old story

The more I watch the news, read editorials, blogs, historical backgrounds I come to the conclusion that this situation in the Middle East, while more complicated because it's been going on back and forth seemingly forever, is no different than any conflict between peoples and nation states and countries throughout mankind. It is about not taking responsibility, not really wanting peace more than wanting revenge. It is about who has been more wronged, whose cause is more just, which people and which religion is more right and holy. It is about power, yes; but also self-preservation too. But it most certainly is not about truly wanting peace. People and countries who want peace find peace. Those who want to dominate, control, blame, be more powerful and influential will not find peace.
Israel in the name of self-preservation gives up (well, on paper) Gaza, the West Bank but will not recognize its people as people. So while self-preservation is valid to a degree; the way it's being handled is counter-productive to say the least. Many of the Arab nations of that region, the people and the leaders, do not feel the Jews and the nation of Israel should exist. Well, that's a fine attitude to have if you really care about the safety and well-being of your own citizens. Let's talk again about being counter-productive. If you threaten the existence of a people and a nation, don't be surprised about the response...but then don't be surprised at the response to the response...
Too simplistic and naive? Perhaps, but it's not like this is a situation where there's a clear culprit that starts something new. This has been, again, going on back and forth for generations. It takes courage, I know, to stand against convention, to put aside perhaps nationality or family or religion to insist and do all that's necessary for peace. So who will it be that ultimately gets this going in the right direction? Israel, Hamas, Jordan, Iran, Hezbollah, some mullah or other, the United Nations -- don't get carried away, Zeb.

Updated today, July 17, to include a link to a blog by Jonathan in Israel that I think everyone should read. Intellect or Insanity

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Hezbollah Hamas Jordan Iran mullah peace Gaza
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Trying to understand it all

Or at least enough to try to talk intelligently about it and have an opinion...the latest crisis in the middle east, that is. Aside from most of yesterday when I was visiting family at camp, this is what I've been doing instead of blogging here.
Hopefully I'll have something intelligent to say soon. Please feel free to jump in with your opinions though, or perspective or facts. I would welcome any information I can get.
While I do this, I'm sampling the special release of Samuel Adams Brewer Patriot Collection, which I've started to review at All Things Zebster So if you like good craft beer or just are interested to reading something light for a while, you could jump over there. Hopefully I won't get less intelligible as I drink more.

UPDATE: The United Nations Security Council unanimously condemns North Korea regarding the launching of their missiles and demands it suspend its ballistic missile program and stop procurement of weapons of mass destruction. It's about time, China and Russia. Will North Korea comply? I suspect they won't but this is a necessary step in getting them to realize we're serious.
Well, that was fast...45 minutes later North Korea rejects it and storms out! No surprise, I guess.

Middle East Samuel Adams United Nations Security Council
ballistic missiles Russia North Korea

Time, The Revelator

As Gillian Welch and David Rawlings write, Time is the Revelator; and so it is and will continue to be with this current Administration. We are hearing more and more proof that Karl Rove was involved in leaking Valerie Plame's identity to Bob Novak...something the President said wouldn't happen, didn't happen and wouldn't be tolerated in his administration. He has said that anyone who leaked would be punished. Well, Karl Rove's still around, as close to the President as ever...doing everything but swapping spit with each other. (Yes, the same Karl Rove who leaked during the previous Bush administration) Their talking heads say he did nothing illegal. Well, if someone from the other side of the aisle had done the very same thing and the Special Prosecutor didn't feel it was a slam-dunk case, this group would be screaming about the morality of it.

Their arrogance is unbelievable and frightening. The deceipts and cover-ups are rampant, and they'll do anything but take responsibility. Where's Harry Truman when you need the buck to stop where the buck should stop? No reason that we were given for going to war in Iraq has proven to have any basis. I said all along the war hawks in that administration, the President included, always wanted to go to Iraq and take out Hussein to fix his father's legacy and write his own; and they frankly didn't care how they got there or the consequences of this misguided action, such as the toll on the soldiers, incidents like Haditha and Abu Graib, the fact that we opened the place up to al Qaeda, that Iran and North Korea know we're preoccupied, even though they were bigger threats to begin with, to -- unfortunately it's a seemingly endless list. Oh, I'd me remiss if I didn't include the fact that the Taliban has gotten stronger since we took our eye off Afghanistan and Bin Laden and focused on Iraq.

So when Joe Wilson exposes another falsehood that was the basis for going to war, what's their reaction? Gee, maybe it's a good idea to leak the identity of his wife, who just happened to be a "Non-official cover operative." An explanation here And over and over the White House howls about the press revealing secrets that weren't secrets, yet it's okay for them to use the press to leak the CIA wife of a whistleblower in an attempt to discredit the whistleblower. Well, if you have the goods that the whistleblower is wrong, then why didn't you release that information?
It's all about credibility and this administration has none for most of the country. Raise your hands all of you who voted for Bush in the fall of '03 who would've liked to have known this information before you voted.

And time will be the revelator about this so-called supply-side robust economy just as it was with Reaganomics...lots of low-paying jobs, high prices, the everyday working schmuck unable to make ends meet because there's been no real rise in wages since they took office...coupled with an ever-increasing deficit that will strangle any real growth. So rejoice investor class...the rest of us are unimpressed.

UPDATE: And this just in, Valerie Plame has filed a civil suit against Cheney, Rove, Libby, et al. So I'll be writing about this in the near future.

See my previous rant on this issue Leakergate

whistleblower Wilson Bush Special Prosecutor Leakergate Plame Rove Gillian Welch Reaganomics economy Novak Haditha Abu Graib al Qaeda Iraq Taliban Afghanistan Bin Laden Cheney Libby

Updates and such

As many of you know, I am a huge Pink Floyd fan and am saddened to learn that Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett died yesterday at the age of 60. I include here a snippet to think about "and did you exchange a walk-on part in the war for a lead role in the cage?" My favorite line from my favorite Pink Floyd song, a song that I feel lyrically is in the top 5 all time. And even though that song was written by mostly Roger Watters with David Gilmore for Syd, it is a metaphor for life like no other and sums up in many ways the life of Barrett. Another great and obvious choice of a song to quote as a tribute would be "Shine on you crazy diamond."
A quote from the band, “Syd was the guiding light of the early band lineup and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire.”

Hao Wu was released, according to his sister. Ethan ZuckermanYou can learn about the release of Hao Wu here. It would be nice to think that those of us who got involved in trying to pressure China to release him had some effect, but we'll never know why he was released.

Do you want to talk about the viability of Danica Patrick having success in Nascar, as it's rumored she will be "heading south" next year? Is she the one to prove that women can succeed at the highest levels of auto racing? I believe a woman can but I'm not sure it's her. Since I'm much more a Nascar fan than other racing series, I'd prefer a woman come to Nascar with a proven record of success. As of yet, that's not Danica.

MSNBC The President of FIFA is quoted as saying that Zinedine Zidane could be stripped of his MVP trophy.“The winner of the award is not decided by FIFA, but by an international commission of journalists,” Blatter said in Wednesday’s La Repubblica. “That said, FIFA’s executive committee has the right, and the duty, to intervene when faced with behavior contrary to the ethic of the sport.” Let's hope they do the right thing here.

MSNBC A suspect in the India train bombings yesterday has ties to al-Qaida. Dawood Ibrahim apparently tops the list of suspects responsible for the bombings that took place along many points of the commuter rail line in Mumbai, formerly Bombay, bombings which killed 183.
We've always known terrorists like to target trains. Have we done nearly enough or as much as can be done in this country to prevent attacks like that here?

Hao Wu Syd Barrett Pink Floyd India Global Voices Mumbai Ibrahim al Qaida bombings terrorism Zidane FIFA Blatter Danica

Open mic night, Zinedine Zidane

Since this incident happened on the world's biggest sports stage, I feel this is a social issue. How on earth can you award an MVP trophy, in this case the World Cup Gold Ball, to a player who head butted another player during the championship game between his team, France, and Italy, ultimately won by Italy on penalty kicks?
If we were talking about an incident that had nothing to do with the game or at least didn't happen on the playing field, perhaps there could be some varied opinions. But as I said, this incident occurred during overtime of a tie game, the championship game no less. Many people feel this cost his team the victory. That's debatable. But the argument can be made that France was outplaying Italy during the final minutes of the game when this happened. Instead of scoring the winning goal, they had to play the rest of the way a man down because Zidane was given a red card for this stupidity, which also meant he wouldn't be available for penalty kicks; and the game was ultimately won by Italy on penalty kicks.

What kind of message does it send to the youth of the world that you can do something like that in front of millions and still be awarded for it? Does it really matter what Marco Materazzi might have said to possibly instigate such a deplorable reaction? So this is how the soccer community punishes these kinds of actions?

I'll be spending the day out at camp with the family. So you folks take it from here.
soccer World Cup France Zidane Italy gold ball red card MVP Zizou Materazzi

Lt. Ehren Watada

Lt. Ehren Watada

I would ask that people look at this situation with an open mind. It is a provocative issue, a polarizing issue in many ways. Neither side should be discounted out of hand, which is why I'm including his statement, encourage people to discuss it and will try to lay out my feelings on this as a liberal, a patriotic American and Marine (there is no such thing as former Marine).
It is a very brave thing he is doing. He must know how it will end. We are a country of laws but he must understand and should understand that when you sign up for duty in the US Armed Forces, you relinquish some of those rights.
He signed up for duty after we invaded Iraq. This is an all-volunteer force. So any sympathy I would have had had he been on active duty before we went to Iraq don't count in this situation. Be that as it may, once you sign up, your duty is to do your duty. You can be a participant in a so-called illegal war, do your duty and not commit war crimes, as he alleges he would be doing.
He should have chosen to be a conscientious objector as a civilian, not as an active duty member of the military. He can call it a breech of American law, but not while he's on duty, especially an officer, a leader of men.
Joining the military takes a lot of soul searching; and again, given that we were already involved in Iraq before he joined, he had plenty of information with which to search his soul. This kind of second guessing by officers is what gets those who are supposed to follow him innocently killed.
I felt very strongly before we went to Iraq that we shouldn't have gone to Iraq; that the reasons the American public were given for going were deceiptful at best. But I can tell you this: Had I still be on active duty at the time we went, I would have done my duty, followed those orders that were legal (which would've been 99.999999% of them); and honored my commitment and my country, and then came home and done a much better job and honorable job of objecting to this war.
That's as even handed as I can be about it.
conscientious objector Iraq war Watada officer war crimes duty

My early travels in the blogosphere

Having just read a fascinating blog at Global Voices about the recent elections in Bolivia, I was initially struck by what a fascinating and wonderful site that is; that someone in Maine can within a click or two of a mouse be essentially transported to another part of the world, learning about that area through the eyes of someone who lives there and lives what they're writing about. On the front page of that site today you're within a click of learning about refugees in Kazakhstan or monsoons in India...again, from people who are there, people like us.
Soon thereafter, it occurred to me how much I've gotten out of blogging and reading blogs in just a short time. It is a place, the blogosphere, where you can write about what interests you; and there are people who will read it who are as interested in it as you. It is a very good tool as well to hone your writing skills and bring out the creativity even in someone with very little. Maybe this endeavor will lead to work in a field I'm finding I should have pursued years ago. (I still need a job!)
I've had a similar but narrower experience with the internet, as I wrote about recently in All Things Zebster about my 10 year relationship with Nascar friends I've made on message boards.
But this is much larger. I've started to make some new friends like Robbie and Ingrid; I've found a community of like-minded political independents, such as Nancy The Hankster. I have been in touch with some of them and will soon hopefully meet someone here in Maine who is active in independent politics through the Committee for a Unified Independent Party. So that's very exciting. I've started a blog with my brother, my cousin and a friend where we talk about our beloved Red Sox at BoSox Tavern. As my map shows, I've had people "visit" from many parts of the world. And I've found some very clever and interesting blogs, such as Useless Advice From Useless Men.
I've learned much about myself, the world and the people in it in a relatively short period of time. I highly recommend it. The more that people in this world learn about each other and the world they live in, the greater the likelihood we'll someday learn to get along. The smilie's for you, Dog!

Bolivia Kazakhstan India blogosphere blogging friends writing Maine

A momentary lean to the right

Though this wouldn't be the smartest thing to do given our worldwide lack of popularity right now, part of me wants to say to that whackjob in North Korea, "Hey, do you remember what happened in the past when a much less powerful country threatened a powerful country?" "Yeah, that's right, your country wasn't yours anymore, KIM Jong Il!"
Threatening your neighbors by sending missiles into the Sea of Japan and attempting to produce missiles that threaten us will not get us to the bargaining table, quite the opposite. I'd be tempted to give President Bush permission to pull a Crocodile Dundee on their asses by saying "No, this is a missile" and fly one armed with a non-nuclear warhead right into an unpopulated part of North Korea. And say, "There's more where that came from and they're aimed right at you."
Phew, now that's off my chest. Diplomacy is always the best way to proceed but their threats should not get them anything.

My wife will kill me when she reads this. Though I think she'd agree with its sentiment but not its implementation (nor do I), her son, my stepson is stationed in Korea right now and she's mighty nervous about that.

Some background info CIA.gov

North Korea KIM Jong Il KIM Bush Taepodong Kittaeryong Japan Sea

Hao Wu

The plight of Hao Wu, a Chinese editor and blogger at Global Voices Online, came to my attention through Ingrid at Blogger Roundtable, in which she encouraged others to do like she and many others did and write the Wall Street Journal to plea for the release of Hao Wu, who has been imprisoned for "state secrets" by the government of Mao Zedong.
So on our Independence Day I would ask others to join us in writing a letter to the editor of the WSJ, which has done much in publicizing this issue, asking for the release of Hao Wu. Below is the letter that I wrote. Feel free to copy it.

"To the Editor:
The Government of China needs to understand that this is a small world, that taking away the freedom of one without due cause and due process threatens us all. If we in our comfortable country can take notice of the plight of a man who loves his country but stands for making it better, then perhaps the Chinese Government will realize that nothing will go unnoticed.
If China wants to be viewed as a world power, then they must care about their reputation within the most powerful and influential nation on earth. If they want to grow their economy, then they must care about their reputation within the most powerful economic nation on earth.
So on this day, Independence Day in the United States, I am appealing to the Chinese Government through the efforts of the Wall Street Journal to release Hao Wu or to at the very least make public the charges against him and try him on those charges.
About which we will watch as well.
I will also post this letter on my blog and request my readers, few that they are, to do the same."

Also read Ethan Zuckerman's blog regarding the situation with Hao wu.
Hao Wu Wall street Journal WSJ China Global Voices Mao Zedong Chinese

On this Independence Day

I thought I'd take a few minutes to express my thoughts regarding what Independence Day means to me in 2006. Despite the fact that I've been out of work for far too long and the prospects for a good job look bleak, this is still the Land of Opportunity and it is that fact that produces much of my ongoing optimism. Despite the fact that the divide between the haves and have-nots continues to grow, we are all in the category of haves compared to most of the rest of the world.
This is the country of open and free debate, where you don't have to look over your shoulder when expressing your views; where the freedom to express your views and disagree openly with the policies of your government has changed little in over 200 years. This is a country where having a far left and a far right truly produces a working, successful center; and it is this open and ongoing tug of war that makes this country continue to grow and excel.
I realize we have Memorial Day, but we should always remember on Independence Day the sacrifices of those in the past and ongoing that have made and continue to make us free and independent.
On this Independence Day though I think we should also resolve as a country and a people to temper our arrogance and that big chip on our shoulder. We are a better country when we see our flaws and are willing to consider how we are truly viewed by other countries. Being the best and strongest is a great thing; but if we are never willing to see the chinks in our armour, then our chinks can grow and we cannot continue to grow as a nation. That also is good advice for us as individuals. We need to recognize that the biggest strength this country has is its diversity of its people and its diversity of ideas and ideals.Let us have a safe and happy but reflective Independence Day...reflect on what has made this country great but resolve to not sit on our laurels. There is plenty of room for improvement. Those who do not grow will stagnate and eventually weaken and perhaps die.
So let's be vigilent and do our part, each and every one of us, to see to it that the sacrifices of so many is never wasted.
I would encourage anyone who reads this blog to leave a comment and better yet to backlink to it and write your own thoughts on what this Independence Day means to you...almost like a blogger chain letter. Remember, whoever breaks the chain will have 10 years of bad luck or something dumb like that. And please don't blow your hand off playing with fireworks!
Independence Day

All Things Zebster: Boston Sports Update

All Things Zebster: Boston Sports Update
So I've made the decision to have Inside Zebster be my politics and social blog only. I may occasionally post pop culture and sports stuff that's truly socially related but other than that the lighter stuff will now be at All Things Zebster.
After wasting a few hours trying to get Word Press to work for me, I've created my sports and everything else but politics blog here on Blogger.
Give me some time to play with it, but come and see what's going on.

Leakergate

You've certainly heard the Bush Administration's response regarding the NY Times "revealing" the financial database tool they were using. One example, by President Bush, "There can be no excuse for anyone entrusted with vital intelligence to leak it — and no excuse for any newspaper to print it." (Unless your name is Karl Rove)

I would encourage people to read the Original article as well as Bill Keller's Response I have my opinions on this issue, which I will mention briefly, but the reason for this post is that I think it's important for people to understand the reasons used by the Times in deciding to publish that information. Then if you still feel they were wrong, that's fine...at least it's an informed decision. And make no mistake, I agree with Mr. Keller that it was an extremely difficult decision to make for very obvious reasons.

My take in watered down form, as I changed my mind from writing this solely as an emotional, fact-based piece to a plea for people to be informed. This administration does not believe in the Fourth Estate as part of the oversight of government (I think they barely believe in the Second Estate, when you examine the measures taken to weaken congressional power and strengthen presidential power). The Fourth Estate is the eyes and mouth of the people; and in this time where we have a very secretive administration, a congress that's been unable and unwilling to stand up for us, who do we then rely on for oversight, information and most importantly a counter-balance? The toothless, ineffective, follow-the-breeze Democrats? Negative. The Republicans who hold a majority in both houses of congress? No reply necessary. The Bush Administration themselves? Just look at the abusive use of signing statements for your answer.

The Administration's premise regarding its position on this issue is a good one, but this program is not and has not been a secret. In the NYT todayThe President on several occasions has referred to it. Swift has taken no measures to keep it a secret, quite the opposite. And when you have an administration who leaks secret information when it suits them (see Karl Rove vis a vis Valerie Plame), they have no leg to stand on, except the leg of fear-based patriotism.

You should also refresh your memory regarding the NY Times reporting of the Clinton Administration before you rally around the liberal media flag, as well as the fact that many people in this country feel the "liberal" press and the NY Times generally did not do their job of oversight for many months after 9/11. We'll call it the 9/11 honeymoon. This was certainly not a liberal press that questioned every move of a conservative government.

Given the constant string of mistakes, miscalculations, secrets, arrogance, lack of planning, ineptitude, deceptions and deceipts, I for one am thankful to know that someone is paying attention and willing to make difficult decisions that are intentioned in our best interest.

Fourth Estate NY Times Bush Keller Leakergate Plame Rove

What do you think?

I had this long blog prepared regarding the NY Times issue but it needs more editing. So I'll turn to something much lighter today.
Part of me feels as though I need to start another blog for personal diary, sports, pop culture, as Inside Zebster has become about politics and social issues...things that I'm obviously passionate about but I don't want to write just about those things. Do you who read regularly read because of the variety or more the social stuff? Would this blog suffer without the variety or, conversely, would the folks who are interested in what I have to say from a social standpoint be turned off if I'm blogging about my daughter's wisdom teeth, sports from a nonsocial standpoint or the job search? In essence, I'm trying to make it a professional blog and, therefore, am probably answering my own question. But honestly, that variety was what I had in mind for Inside Zebster. So please pipe in.

Enjoyable political comedy night last night with Helen Thomas on the Daily Show and Chris Matthews on the Colbert Report. Count me among the legions who find these shows very entertaining, especially the Colbert Report's originality. No, I don't get my information from these shows, though at times their odd perspective on a subject can be somewhat enlightening. Steve Colbert is afraid of Helen Thomas. So at the end of the Daily Show where they "introduce" the Colbert Report, Steve asks John who is guest was. "...Helen Thomas." And Colbert looks panicked and they replay part of a previous skit where she's stalking Colbert. Hysterical. If you've never seen the Colbert Report, try this website and watch The Word. The Colbert Report

And I rarely miss Hardball because I like Chris Matthews. I think he's fair, holds Democrats to a much higher standard than most Democrats, informed and tough. So seeing him taking on neo-con Colbert was pretty funny. Your take on these three shows?
Colbert Colbert Report Daily Show John Stewart Hardball Chris Matthews Helen Thomas

What's in it for Indies?

Obviously that will depend on who you ask, and therein lies the rub for Independent organizers. Indies are disenfranchised Republicans who are dissatisfied with the economic, or lack thereof, control of the current administration, and who are not dead-set on always voting far-right "moral" issues at the expense of policy.
They are disgruntled far-right Republicans who feel this administration used them to get elected and have now seen, until recently, their issues ignored. Most of these folks will return to the Republicans leading up to the election because the Carl Roves of the world know their vote can be bought by promising moral compass changes they can't deliver.
They are liberal Democrats who recognize the Democratic party has no leadership, no viable Presidential candidates, no moral compass strong enough to support the issues they feel most strongly about.
Insert other narrow factions as you please.
Then probably the largest group are those moderate liberals (me) and moderate conservaties who largely have never wanted to be a member of a party...pure free thinkers who are allergic to cheese. Centrists they are called by many, though that's a misnomer because they all lean one way or another; and that can change depending on the issue.

I dare say they are all joined regarding the war in Iraq; but unfortunately for those who want a third party, they are upset about the war for varying reasons. Lack of planning, lack of exit strategy, anti-war, anti-nation building, feel misled...insert your own reason here. But the point is: The spectrum of these reasons run from far left all the way across to the far right. A large group of these indies are, thus, swing voters and can be brought back into the fold of the left or right with the right piece of cheese.

They are all of these groups together when it comes to political reform, a desire to at least drastically lessen the stranglehold of special interest groups on their governmental processes. But from this disparate group can a third party be formed? There is certainly an opportunity now that wasn't taken full advantage of in 1992. But many, perhaps most, don't want a third party. They are true independents who worry a third party will eventually, maybe sooner than later, have the same trappings of the other two, just trapped in a different place.

A third party can satisfy the concerns of many of these folks but whether that party has any real power would remain to be seen.

Consequently, this is what independents want in my humble opinion: They want an organization, a means, through which real reform can happen, even a viable third option on occasion; but without any allegiances. Is that possible, is that viable, is it even logical for them, us, to want?

indies independents third party Democrats Republicans reform