Now this is the democrats, you know, those folks who (most) all of you fake lefties and so-called progressives are looking to for the salvation of the republic. These same democrats that you all are pinning your hopes on for solid change in Washington, D.C. and beyond. These same democrats who are every stinking bit as deeply embedded in the corporate, capitalist, PAC money machine as the repugs; and this is your salvation?
Carter's book is scheduled for release November 14. A story in The Jewish Daily Forward by Jennifer Siegel notes that Carter likens Israel's policies in the Palestinian territories to "a system of apartheid, with two peoples occupying the same land but completely separated from each other, with Israelis totally dominant and suppressing violence by depriving Palestinians of their basic human rights." Carter holds up Israel's settlement policy as being "principally to blame for the failure of peace initiatives in the Middle East."
Howard Dean the guy who was going to save us all, you remember? Dean immediately led the charge thusly. "While I have tremendous respect for former President Carter, I fundamentally disagree and do not support his analysis of Israel and the Israel-Palestinian conflict. On this issue President Carter speaks for himself, the opinions in his book are his own, they are not the views or position of the Democratic Party. I and other Democrats will continue to stand with Israel in its battle against terrorism and for a lasting peace with its neighbors."
Now Nancy Pelosi, the demmie leader in Foggy Bottom said; "It is wrong to suggest that the Jewish people would support a government in Israel or elsewhere that institutionalizes ethnically based oppression and Democrats reject that allegation vigorously. With all due respect to former President Carter, he does not speak for the Democratic Party on Israel."
With all due respect, Ms. Pelosi neglected to quantify her vigorous denunciation of Carter by adding that indeed President Carter "does not speak for the Democratic Party (or AIPAC) on Israel." She really should have been a bit more succinct there.
Let's see, Pelosi says that it's wrong to "suggest that the Jewish people would support a government - that institutionalizes ethnically based oppression." And she is partly right, there are many, many Jewish people who reject their governments' oppression - and murder - of the Palestinian People. Just as there are many, many Americans who reject their governments' oppression - and murder - of Iraqis. Needless to say that of those numbers of Israelis and Americans who reject their respective governments' policies of terror and genocide we are not able to count either Howard Dean or Nancy Pelosi among them.
Also a lot of other demmies jumped on the slam Carter bandwagon, among them Reps. Steve Israel, Charles Rangel and Jerold Nadler, all of New York. To the man, they all criticized Carter and the book. Then there was Rep. John Conyers, Jr., of Michigan , a ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee and the man who a lot of folks feel should lead up an impeachment process if the demmies take back the house. Conyers first off the cuff remark put forward the pronouncement that Carter's using the term "apartheid" went to far.
Conyers further remarked, "I cannot agree with the book's title and its implications about apartheid, I recently called the former president to express my concerns about the title of the book, and to request that he change it." Like Pelosi, Conyers could have quantified his remarks a bit further by mentioning that he was one of eight House members who this past summer did not vote for a resolution backing the Jewish state in the wake of the Hezbollah attacks. For that bit of intransigence AIPAC and its minions roundly and soundly jumped on Conyers with all four feet. So in criticizing Carter's telling the truth, Conyers obviously is looking to curry the lost favors and strengthen his standing. And these are the folks who are going to save us after November 7?
What is apartheid? "Apartheid literally means separation, but this universally accepted term, which is often referred to as "colonialism of a special type," embodies within it the major components of displacement through colonization, including its changing policies and measures in which expansionism and racism subjugate and eradicate a people. Apartheid was officially made a universal term by the United Nations in the 1976 "International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid." Apartheid began and is rooted in the very establishment of the colonial Israeli regime, set up as a state for Jews only, both in law (de jure) and in the implementation of its goals on various levels (de facto). This includes those mechanisms that are used to justify its practices to avoid its legalization. Apartheid is characterized by forcible transfer of populations, land control, labor exploitation, humiliation, and mass murder."
In October 2003 "the Israeli military released an order declaring all occupied West Bank land between the "security" wall and Israel's pre-occupation 1967 border a "closed zone." The order states that "no person will enter the (closed zone) and no one will remain there." Free access to the closed zone will only be granted to "Israeli's." In this order, General Moshe Kaplinski defines "Israeli's" as any citizen of the state of Israel, resident of the state of Israel, and any one eligible to emigrate to Israel in accordance with the Law of Return, 1950. This means therefore, that while the 15,300 Palestinian residents in this 115 square kilometre area, or those in the adjoining communities who own agricultural land here (180,000 people) must now obtain unreliable permits to validate their existence, any Jewish person from anywhere in the world is quite free to come and settle on this land."
In the three years since this order of course, we have seen more building of the (wall) as well as more destruction of Palestinian agricultural lands and crops. The recently enacted sanctions have caused further deprivation as well as death amongst the Palestinian community. Israel constantly carries out mock air raids over Gaza firing missiles in uninhabited areas and in effect terrorizing the population. They also have fired missiles into children's playgrounds while flying low over densely populated areas. One could go on and on about Israeli's terrorizing of the Palestinians and the infamous wall, but the truth remains, it is apartheid and President Carter is right on in speaking out.
Nelson Mandela described apartheid as "the color line that all too often determines who is rich and who is poor...who lives in luxury and who lives in squalor...who shall get food, clothing and health care...and who will live and who will die."
For this writer the foregoing quote sums up concisely the present policies of both the Israeli and the United States governments. Both are totalitarian states that will broach no criticism, indeed one can now be jailed for such speaking out (Israel's been doing it for years, we're just now catching up).
So, let's recap, Jimmy writes a book and the demmies, those weak, two-faced, lying bastards who try and convince me that they want to make change, jump all over Carter for telling it like it is. My country is falling apart at the seams, infrastructure-wise, economically and socially. My country is practicing genocide in Iraq and assisting Israel in its genocidal policies in the mid-east. My country is being raped, looted and otherwise plundered by a bunch of self-serving plutocrats. Jimmy Carter speaks to truth and the demmies would burn him at the stake. These are the folks who are going to save this republic? Not!
You can contact Frank at fpitz76@hotmail.com
