Hear, Oh Israel-

My, my. The growing unrest around the world is becoming daily more tangible. The deterioration of the Middle East only one example. Since the institution of the State of Israel following WWII, we have, as a matter of US foreign policy, guaranteed a state of strife, genocide and constant war in the once fertile crescent.

For more than a year now, with the aid of America's never ending military might, Israel has kept Gaza under constant siege. As in our policy in Iraq, civilian targets make up the majority of casualties. Schools, mosques and hospitals are fair game, and no amount of misery is too much to inflict on the enemy. It is, after all, only through their misery that they will surrender.

Now Netanyahu is conflicted. He is Prime Minister designate-but what coalition will rule Israel? Should he continue with his hard right, proto-fascist path? Should he bring in some moderates? How much does he need to change to accomodate the Obama administration? The policy of genocide carried out on behalf of the Jewish state against Muslim and Jewish freedom seeker alike are beginning to draw far too much negative press. The pictures of dead children, blown apart in the school yard; the stories of families murdered by Israeli soldiers; the constant siege of terror on Palestine-this is reaching the rest of the world-and we are not pleased.

Chances are that even by bringing in Israeli moderates, the approach to domestic policy in Israel will continue as is-with our tacit approval. Obama has made clear that he supports the use of monumental force in the oppression of Palestine. He has made his token gesture to the "humanity" of the Palestinians, and then warned them not to resist. As long as our special relationship with Israel continues, so too shall the genocide of its inhabitants. And as long as American made artillery is used on the People of Palestine, they can look at the spent casings and know who's bullets killed their children.

As we continue to dawdle down the road to economic ruin, we need look at Israel (and Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan) seriously. We support states that use military rule to enforce their wishes. They willingly imprison, torture and murder their citizens and our leaders praise the actions. The fact that we have been passing legislation to do away with our Constitution and have begun deploying the Army on American soil expressly for containing civil unrest are signs we cannot ignore. As we draw closer to the razor's edge, the reaction of our government seems to be already decided in favor of military law. If we do not wish to live in a state of terror like that suffered in Israel, Iraq or any other dictatorship that survives with our aid, then we need to strike the heart of the beast while its vulnerable.

Chew on that for a moment. Then chew on what was going on in the Delta after Hurricane Katrina. Consider Guantanamo and the rapid building of detention centers all over the US. Consider the Patriot Act, and how many thousands of people WITHIN the United States have been disappeared under its auspices.

If we do not want to watch the rise of Big Brother-then we better get busy.

Drawing back the Curtain

If a people become truly duped-Orwell style-how long before the People awake? In these days, as the curtain closes on a free society, can we tip the scale? The economic scale is certainly doomed-but the fate of our Republic is much more open to change and influence.

A common consensus (85%) is that we are heading in the wrong direction. More than that eighty-five percent believe corporations have far too much power & influence in government. The people drawing these conclusions are very near to connecting all of the dots...pretty scary proposition for the "power" wielders.

The days are racing forward. One finish line is on the horizon (Nov. 4) and that finish line is the starting line of a whole new marathon. The course of our evolution requires ever more our guiding hand-of the People. By the People. For the People. No other power stands above We, the People.

Orwell and Atwood presented us with possibilities. They constructed tyrannical societies where every word is precious, where the keys to knowledge are closely guarded and complacency ruthlessly enforced. We know that truth is stranger than fiction (just look at the last 8 years). Still, we are not unaware of the parallels between the Big Brother and an ever expanding network of surveillance here in the land of the "free".

These parallels reinforce our resolve. We see deceit where it stands. We know hate speak and doublespeak-we understand the tools of obfuscation. We see the face of grand betrayal and are heeding the call to slay it. The precedent set by the Patriot Act (a truly Orwellian name for this fascist legislation) and all associated "anti-terror" legislation is not only coming straight from "1984", but from every dictatorship to steal power in the last century.

The "War on Terror" is a war on Freedom. If we are hated "for our freedoms" then is giving up those freedoms not handing victory over to the "enemy"