Don't just feel bad, DO something

So if you want to actually do something, instead of just feeling bad about the genocide in Sudan, NY Times columnist, Nicholas Kristoff, provides you with easy access to make a difference.

Breaking News: Arab States Oppose Condemning Anti-Semitism!

European countries are apparently "shocked" that Arab members of the UN have expressed opposition to a proposed UN vote condemning anti-semitism.

This controversial resolution "...would issue a general condemnation of all forms of anti-Semitism and acts of intolerance, incitement and harassment. The decision would also call on member countries to take steps to block anti-Semitism."

Apparently the Arab League Ambassador is worried that such a resolution would have a negative impact on the Middle East.

Yes, having to prevent intolerance, incitement and harrassment, would indeed be inconvenient to those Arab states whose support-base relies on those things.

Tel-Aviv

Arafat has the audacity to accuse the Israeli government of being behind today's bombing in Tel Aviv, even after his own Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade has rushed to claim responsibility.

What a load of crap.

The ICJ ruling on the separation fence is totally without basis, and while alot of people are pissed about it, there's no way in hell the Israeli government would stage an attack just to prove a point. Arafat needs to pull his head out of his ass if he really thinks anyone would believe that bullshit.

Lone Democracy in the Middle East

Richard Cohen's recent piece in the Washington Post highlights the stark difference between Israel and her neighbors. Sure everyone's heard pro-Israel folks insist that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East (and that's true) but, this article really drives the point home.

"The Israeli Supreme Court has ordered the army to alter a section of the security fence that separates Jewish and Palestinian areas of the West Bank to make it less oppressive to the Palestinians. In the length of the fence involved, in the number of villages and people affected, the decision is hardly momentous. But as a statement of principle, it is head and shoulders above anything any other Middle East government would permit -- never mind implement. The Israeli government says it will obey the ruling.

Just consider what the Israeli Supreme Court said. It agreed that the security fence is necessary. It did not find it to be a mere land grab, as some critics of the fence have charged, nor did it find it a loopy idea, as others have. It found the fence a practical way of dealing with the reality of Palestinian terrorism.

"We are aware that this decision does not make it easier to deal with that reality," the three judges wrote. "This is the destiny of a democracy: She does not see all means as acceptable, and the ways of her enemies are not always open before her. A democracy must sometimes fight with one arm tied behind her back." The court then tied the arm.

Bear this decision in mind, please, when next someone refers to the Israelis as "Nazis" or otherwise talks about the nation as if it were a thuggish dictatorship. Israel, in fact, is a complex and conflicted place, searching always for the correct balance between what is right and what is safe, sometimes -- maybe even often -- losing its way. But at its heart it still has a heart."