It's All About Unforgiveness

This is psychology. A victim of abuse puts up walls to prevent further and future abuse. It's understandable. The victim is paranoid and will stop at nothing to make sure no abuse ever happens again. Unfortunately, paranoia prevents a victim from having normal relationships with normal non-abusive people. Walls prevent a person from building bridges and being able to understand others.

Now let's take a look at the case of a victim of land-grabbing where a person's real property has been stolen by a close relative. The victim is bitter and seething with anger. In his mind he wants to take vengeance against the oppressor. At times he may act out his bitterness and anger in physical and verbal ways against his oppressor.

Imagine this. The first party is a paranoid victim of abuse. The second party is a bitter victim of oppression. Each party will never be able to understand the point of view of the other. The former thinks the latter is abusing him every time the latter acts out his bitterness.

The only real solution is forgiveness. Unless the paranoid victim of abuse learns to forgive his abuser, he will not be able to have normal relationships with non-abusive people. Unless the victim of oppression learns to forgive his oppressor, he will never be able to settle with his perceived oppressors.

This is the story of Israel and Palestine — historically the Jews view the Palestinians as the Philistines (who represent all anti-Semitists, see this article and this) — and historically the Palestinians view Israel as the Crusaders (who represent real estate grabbers and oppressors). Add to that religious bigotry — Americans and Jews viewing all Muslims as anti-Christian and anti-Jews and  Arabs viewing all Christians as infidels. We have the recipe for an endless war.

Israel vows lasting Gaza campaign

The scenes of destruction in Gaza City

Israel says it is ready for "long weeks of action" as it continues its fiercest air assault on Gaza for decades to stamp out militant rocket attacks.

Palestinian officials say 10 people died in the latest attacks, taking the death toll to over 360 since Saturday. Four Israelis have died in rocket fire.

Israeli Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit rejected any ceasefire until the threat of rockets was removed completely.

A UN human rights monitor accused Israel of "shocking atrocities".

Richard Falk - the special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories - said the international community must put more pressure on Israel to end its attacks on Gaza.

"Israel is committing a shocking series of atrocities by using modern weaponry against a defenceless population - attacking a population that has been enduring a severe blockade for many months," Mr Falk said in a BBC interview.

The UN says at least 62 of the Palestinians killed so far have been women and children, and it is calling for an investigation into attacks which causing heavy civilian casualties.

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Read Al Jazeera's version...

Another cold war?

So is this leading to another cold war? What I don't understand is one man telling everyone else to drop their guns because "it's illegal." One man insisting that only one man and his team can have guns. Well I guess that works when it's the police telling everyone else to drop their guns. But that's because in our society we acknowledge the law and accept that the police have the authority to tell everyone else to drop their guns. But who gave the allies authority to police the entire planet? The UN? That's a big question because we don't have a great global one-world government that tells all the nations who can police.

Expect resistance, especially since the US made one big mistake saying Iraq had an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction but was never able to prove it in five years of occupation. Are they going to make the same assertion or presumption on Iran?

Russia doesn't seem convinced. Why should they be?

US warns Russia against selling missiles to Iran

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Writer

 

WASHINGTON – U.S. officials said Monday that they want answers from Russia on whether it is selling advanced surface-to-air missiles to Iran, a move the U.S. insists could threaten American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. A senior military intelligence official said that while Moscow has sent out conflicting responses to reports on the sale of long-range S-300 missiles, the U.S. believes it is taking place. However, it appears that no equipment has yet been delivered to Iran, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Russia's state arms export agency said Monday it is supplying Iran with defensive weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, but did not say whether they include sophisticated long-range S-300 missiles.

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It's All About Greed

We're still reeling with shock from the fall of Wall Street then here comes another blow. It seems like fate has chosen western capitalism as its target. And fate isn't missing. Fate knows what the culprit is.

The fall of Wall Street was inevitable. The government giving incentives to banks to lend to those who don't deserve (who knows why), banks grabbing the opportunity to lend to those who have little chance to pay, and borrowers wanting more money so they can buy the latest and up their lifestyle, their future was set. Greed is the name of the game — the desire for luxury and more money and utter disregard and concern for others. It's the Me generation.

Now Madoff. He made off with investors' money. And to think he was able to scam $1 billion off of HSBC! What happens to the savings of HSBC's customers? How about the retirements of investors of investment companies? (And OPEC wants to raise oil prices and pull out their investments from western banks. The same is true for South American countries.)

Western nations cannot serve both the Christian God and greed. They will surely love one and hate the other.

Madoff under curfew on $10m bail

Mr Madoff did not respond to reporters' questions

Bernard Madoff, the hedge fund boss accused of a $50bn (£32bn) fraud, has put up $10m bail and in effect been placed under house arrest.

Mr Madoff turned up at New York's federal court to sign some papers but did not answer reporters' questions.

He signed over his New York flat and his homes in Long Island and Palm Beach, Florida to make up the bail.

He will also be fitted with an electronic tag and will have to seek permission to leave his flat.

In addition to surrendering his own passport, Mr Madoff has also agreed to hand in that of his wife Ruth.

The bail conditions were tightened after Mr Madoff failed to find the required four people to co-sign his bail agreement.

If the correct documents are supplied, Mr Madoff will not have to make another court appearance until 12 January.

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Unemployment - Bleak Future

With unemployment reaching a 26-year high, what's America's future going to be like? As one American longshoreman interviewed on Aljazeera TV said, "The American dream is turning out to be a nightmare."

It looks like the fall of the Twin Towers on September 11 was the prophetic signal for the fall of the American dream. Could it be "Babylon is fallen, is fallen"? Babylon was the world's mightiest military and economic power in its time. But like all empires, Babylon rose and fell.

We cannot help but wonder...

The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more... (Rev. 18:11, NIV)

US jobless claims surge to new high

The numbers of US workers filing new claims for unemployment benefit has reached a 26-year high, according to a government report.

New claims for state benefits reached 573,000 for the week ending December 6, the highest since November 1982, said the Labor Department report released on Thursday.

There were 58,000 more new claims than in the previous week - the biggest increase since 2005, the report said.

The figures were higher than many economists expected and are another sign of troubles within the US economy which George Bush, the US president, has said is already in a recession.

"When combined with the decline in import prices, these are more signs of an economy that is decelerating on the downside with price deflation ... it will create additional concerns about weakening in the economy and corporate profits," said Jim Awad, chairman at WP Stewart and Co, a US investment firm.

Markets down

The number of workers applying for state unemployment benefits had briefly declined in the previous two weeks, but have now surged again as companies sack workers following the economic downturn and the global financial crisis.

Data released last week showed employers cut just over half-a-million jobs in November, the largest number in 34 years, pushing the unemployment rate to 6.7 per cent - the highest since 1993.

US stock markets fell after the report was released.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 10.99 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 8,750.43.

"We keep thinking the financial crisis is over and one by one we find a new industry that is in dire straights," said Carl Birkelbach, head of Birkelbach Management, a Chicago investment firm.

"It appears to me that the credit crunch is going to continue and the ramifications will be negative."

From Aljazeera