Dr. Richardson notes: "Israel and the U.S. have strong historic and economic ties:"
Yes indeed. The US provides weapons to Israel, including nuclear weapons, and Israel provides the military contractors in the US Big money and the military contractors buy off our "Democratic representatives". Quite the seedy relationship indeed.
Then? The Israeli people, like they have since 1917, use the weapons to steal land from the Palestinians, often murdering the Palestinians in the process.
Just four days ago NPR reported on an Israeli settler in the West Bank who shot an unarmed Palestinian in his own Olive Grove.
When the war started I wrote that I have had close friends and coworkers, Israelis and Palestinians, on both sides of the conflict. I cannot choose "a" side. As Heather points out there is wrong on both sides, and innocents killed on both sides. And there are rights on both sides.
All I can do is to be on the side of the innocents, looking for an equitable solution at long last. Buying into the game of who did worse to whom first doesn't help those innocents. Hamas got the brutal response they wanted to provoke. The extremists on both sides have to be sidelined.
A US made gun in the hands of an extremist Israeli settler, or an Iranian made gun in the hands of a Hamas terrorist. Which is worse? Which kills less lethally? Which does not end an innocent life?
Yes, you could say that innocents (Palestinians and Israelis, including the current hostages and so many children and people who just want to live their lives) continue to suffer horribly because Netanyahu got played, played by Hamas to react in ways that will lead to more hatred and bloodshed for years to come. And you can also suspect that Netanyahu wanted that outcome, since he seems uninterested in peace and longterm stability, as it would lead to his ouster. For the sake of innocents, he should be forced out now.
How do you stop an argument between 2 toddlers wanting to play with the same toy?
Both Palestinians & Israelis want the land for themselves without the other. I donтАЩt see how you can sideline one of these without the other only becoming more enraged.
This is nothing like 2 toddlers. Israel is the big bully with the biggest bully as backup and best friend. News Flash: The other toddler just got bombed.........
I agree with you there. I was making a simplistic argument following another commentator suggesting тАЬwe all just get alongтАЭ. How he thinks that happens I have no idea.
I believe the video of that encounter was shown on PBS. Not an easy thing to watch: the Israeli just gunned him down with what looked like an AR-15. The land theft by Israel has got to stop.
It wonтАЩt stop until the Zionists are run out of the Israeli government, or, at the very least, marginalized to the point of insignificance.
The same holds true for our attempts to тАШsave democracyтАЩ here. None will succeed until we banish/reform those who have more fealty to monied interests/corporate donors than to working people, and that includes most of those currently holding elected office in DC.
I disagree. That does not include President Biden or his administration. If you arenтАЩt aware of their work on behalf of working people in the United States one has to conclude you havenтАЩt been paying attention.
I agree with Tom High's statement. Biden et. al. have staked out a political position that seems calculated to bolster working class support, and I agree with that position. But no administration is monolithic. The Biden Administration can't have it both ways regarding Israel. Declaring unequivocal support for Israel, Continuing to supply weapons plus economic aid and the military umbrella of two US Carrier battle groups to guarantee that Israel can operate with impunity in Gaza and bleating all the while that Israel should "play nice" and abide by "the rules of war" and refusing to endorse a cease fire is the pinnacle of hypocrisy.
Spot on! And very well put. Ive been writing as much to the administration and my senators frequently. We can try to have influence but our only real power is over what we contribute. The cagey hypocrisy is infuriating.
I pay attention. IтАЩve also read Democracy Incorporated, VoltaireтАЩs Bastards, The DevilтАЩs Chessboard, and Status Coup, and donтАЩt look to mainstream sources like NPR/PBS or NYT/WaPo as credible sources for information.
IтАЩll disagree with you about Biden and his administration. Not saying he is as bad as Clinton, Obama, and the fascists in the GOP, but thatтАЩs low bar to clear when talking about supporting working people. Ask the railroad workers about it. Ask those still being hammered by our dysfunction health care system. Ask those who are being hammered by rents/housing. IтАЩll conclude you might be paying attention, but only to a narrow slice of our media landscape, one in which liberal centrism predominates.
Tom, an interesting reply. Elsewhere you wrote that youтАЩre an old guy and I am too; 75 y.o., retired physician, quite possibly entering my dotage. Not familiar with the works youтАЩve read and not sure why you listed those particular ones, but I do read the MSM despite having to fly into a rage over their coverage pretty regularly. And because I do I know what HCR was talking about in her Nov. 10th Letter: (the Biden administration) тАЬтАжin the past three years has invested in its people more completely than in any era since the 1960s. The American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act jump-started the U.S. economy after the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic; are rebuilding our roads, bridges, harbors, and internet infrastructure; have attracted $200 billion in private investment for chip manufacturing; and have invested billions in addressing the effects of climate change.┬а
All of these changes need workers, and the economy emerged from the coronavirus pandemic with extraordinary growth that reached 4.9% in the last quarter and has seen record employment and dramatic wage gains. Median household wealth has grown by 37% since the pandemic, with wages growing faster at the bottom of the economy than at the top.
Yesterday, President Biden, in a buoyant mood, reflected this America when he congratulated members of the United Auto Workers in Belvedere, Illinois, for the strong contracts that came from negotiations with the nationтАЩs three top automakersтАжтАЭ
Tom, did your sources cover those things? I feel Biden is changing our economy to such a degree that the MSM are disoriented and STILL printing stories about a recession being imminent and about how NO ONE CAN UNDERSTAND why it hasnтАЩt happened yet and why the unemployment rate is so low, wages and productivity are up and consumers are spending. They canтАЩt understand it because they still think like Neoliberal economists as did Clinton and Obama. Lastly, IтАЩm a Liberal not a Leftist according to the definitions in another one of HCRтАЩs recent Letters. IтАЩve enjoyed this exchange of ideas.
Tom, watching this тАЬsave democracyтАЭ issue, I am alarmed of what that means depending on perspective. One view, currently being pushed hard, is a more Christian theocracy with a unitary executive branch (think Project 2025 & gerrymandering voting districts) versus those who strive for more equal rights (self-expression, voting rights, etc.) and strengthening тАЬthe commonsтАЭ & less тАЬmoney speaks louderтАЭ control of the electoral process. Seemingly two diametrically opposed views of American democracy. Gives me a headache!
I think one has to be careful in using an us/them dynamic when discussing the тАШsave democracyтАЩ issue. Leaving aside the fact that we have never had democracy, only the idea and aspiration for it, itтАЩs important not to open oneself to accusations of hypocrisy. ItтАЩs also important to differentiate between elected officials and тАШthe peopleтАЩ.
I agree with your Christian theocracy assessment. Your equal rights examples fall short, imo, in that there have been numerous examples of liberal malfeasance regarding self-expression and votings rights. Not saying the effects/intensity are the same, just that they exist.
Guess I wasnтАЩt as clear as IтАЩd intended! Yes, itтАЩs the тАЬotheringтАЭ that distresses meтАжbrings to mind the Dylan lyrics тАЬyou were right from your side, I was right from mineтАЭ. The USA is far from a perfect Union, more a work in slow progressтАжor progress by fits тАШn starts. I liken us all to a spinning top, lean too far left or right and we topple, but a certain amount of тАЬwobbleтАЭ is natural and still keeps us spinning.
Well, the gun coming from the us is no surprise, since we are one of the worlds top producer for them. As well as others. Italy, countries in South America. It is an iron cloud.
I applaud HCR for finally addressing the issue after a long absence. I disagree with your assessment that her synopsis is best. I also would quibble with your IтАЩm sure heartfelt desire not to pick a side and just focus on the innocent comment. Picking a side doesnтАЩt mean that one has to condone violence. At the end of the day, one needs to pick on which side of the apartheid/genocide fence one wishes to reside.
I would encourage you to read/watch the following links in their entirety. I learned from each, especially the first three. Peace, t
G, just want to say I appreciate your comments here, most specifically your analysis of the sausage making and political gamesmanship as it relates to the actual inner workings of Congress. Thx.
You are very wekcome. We donтАЩt have to agree on every issue to respect each other and learn from each other. I am wending my way through those links and appreciate that you take the time to prvide the basis for your point of view. Thank you for that
I totally agree. Dr. Richardson always claims that her area of expertise is the American story, but this is the clearest analysis of the current state of the Middle East that I have read. Kudos and thanks.
Completely agree. Her ability to pick out the important news and synthesize it into an accurate, humane, sensible, and convincing narrative is unmatched. SheтАЩs always worth reading.
Thank you Dr. Richardson. This is the best, clearest, most balanced and nuanced synopsis of the Hamas/Israel War I have read.
Dr. Richardson notes: "Israel and the U.S. have strong historic and economic ties:"
Yes indeed. The US provides weapons to Israel, including nuclear weapons, and Israel provides the military contractors in the US Big money and the military contractors buy off our "Democratic representatives". Quite the seedy relationship indeed.
Then? The Israeli people, like they have since 1917, use the weapons to steal land from the Palestinians, often murdering the Palestinians in the process.
Just four days ago NPR reported on an Israeli settler in the West Bank who shot an unarmed Palestinian in his own Olive Grove.
That gun? Came from US.
When the war started I wrote that I have had close friends and coworkers, Israelis and Palestinians, on both sides of the conflict. I cannot choose "a" side. As Heather points out there is wrong on both sides, and innocents killed on both sides. And there are rights on both sides.
All I can do is to be on the side of the innocents, looking for an equitable solution at long last. Buying into the game of who did worse to whom first doesn't help those innocents. Hamas got the brutal response they wanted to provoke. The extremists on both sides have to be sidelined.
A US made gun in the hands of an extremist Israeli settler, or an Iranian made gun in the hands of a Hamas terrorist. Which is worse? Which kills less lethally? Which does not end an innocent life?
Thank you Georgia. You have summed this up so clearly. I totally agree.
Yes, you could say that innocents (Palestinians and Israelis, including the current hostages and so many children and people who just want to live their lives) continue to suffer horribly because Netanyahu got played, played by Hamas to react in ways that will lead to more hatred and bloodshed for years to come. And you can also suspect that Netanyahu wanted that outcome, since he seems uninterested in peace and longterm stability, as it would lead to his ouster. For the sake of innocents, he should be forced out now.
How do you stop an argument between 2 toddlers wanting to play with the same toy?
Both Palestinians & Israelis want the land for themselves without the other. I donтАЩt see how you can sideline one of these without the other only becoming more enraged.
Create a тАЬNo ManтАЩs LandтАЭ?
A "No Man'sLand" is THE answer -
where women would rule
This is nothing like 2 toddlers. Israel is the big bully with the biggest bully as backup and best friend. News Flash: The other toddler just got bombed.........
I agree with you there. I was making a simplistic argument following another commentator suggesting тАЬwe all just get alongтАЭ. How he thinks that happens I have no idea.
I believe the video of that encounter was shown on PBS. Not an easy thing to watch: the Israeli just gunned him down with what looked like an AR-15. The land theft by Israel has got to stop.
It wonтАЩt stop until the Zionists are run out of the Israeli government, or, at the very least, marginalized to the point of insignificance.
The same holds true for our attempts to тАШsave democracyтАЩ here. None will succeed until we banish/reform those who have more fealty to monied interests/corporate donors than to working people, and that includes most of those currently holding elected office in DC.
I disagree. That does not include President Biden or his administration. If you arenтАЩt aware of their work on behalf of working people in the United States one has to conclude you havenтАЩt been paying attention.
I agree with Tom High's statement. Biden et. al. have staked out a political position that seems calculated to bolster working class support, and I agree with that position. But no administration is monolithic. The Biden Administration can't have it both ways regarding Israel. Declaring unequivocal support for Israel, Continuing to supply weapons plus economic aid and the military umbrella of two US Carrier battle groups to guarantee that Israel can operate with impunity in Gaza and bleating all the while that Israel should "play nice" and abide by "the rules of war" and refusing to endorse a cease fire is the pinnacle of hypocrisy.
Spot on! And very well put. Ive been writing as much to the administration and my senators frequently. We can try to have influence but our only real power is over what we contribute. The cagey hypocrisy is infuriating.
I pay attention. IтАЩve also read Democracy Incorporated, VoltaireтАЩs Bastards, The DevilтАЩs Chessboard, and Status Coup, and donтАЩt look to mainstream sources like NPR/PBS or NYT/WaPo as credible sources for information.
IтАЩll disagree with you about Biden and his administration. Not saying he is as bad as Clinton, Obama, and the fascists in the GOP, but thatтАЩs low bar to clear when talking about supporting working people. Ask the railroad workers about it. Ask those still being hammered by our dysfunction health care system. Ask those who are being hammered by rents/housing. IтАЩll conclude you might be paying attention, but only to a narrow slice of our media landscape, one in which liberal centrism predominates.
Tom, an interesting reply. Elsewhere you wrote that youтАЩre an old guy and I am too; 75 y.o., retired physician, quite possibly entering my dotage. Not familiar with the works youтАЩve read and not sure why you listed those particular ones, but I do read the MSM despite having to fly into a rage over their coverage pretty regularly. And because I do I know what HCR was talking about in her Nov. 10th Letter: (the Biden administration) тАЬтАжin the past three years has invested in its people more completely than in any era since the 1960s. The American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act jump-started the U.S. economy after the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic; are rebuilding our roads, bridges, harbors, and internet infrastructure; have attracted $200 billion in private investment for chip manufacturing; and have invested billions in addressing the effects of climate change.┬а
All of these changes need workers, and the economy emerged from the coronavirus pandemic with extraordinary growth that reached 4.9% in the last quarter and has seen record employment and dramatic wage gains. Median household wealth has grown by 37% since the pandemic, with wages growing faster at the bottom of the economy than at the top.
Yesterday, President Biden, in a buoyant mood, reflected this America when he congratulated members of the United Auto Workers in Belvedere, Illinois, for the strong contracts that came from negotiations with the nationтАЩs three top automakersтАжтАЭ
Tom, did your sources cover those things? I feel Biden is changing our economy to such a degree that the MSM are disoriented and STILL printing stories about a recession being imminent and about how NO ONE CAN UNDERSTAND why it hasnтАЩt happened yet and why the unemployment rate is so low, wages and productivity are up and consumers are spending. They canтАЩt understand it because they still think like Neoliberal economists as did Clinton and Obama. Lastly, IтАЩm a Liberal not a Leftist according to the definitions in another one of HCRтАЩs recent Letters. IтАЩve enjoyed this exchange of ideas.
Tom, watching this тАЬsave democracyтАЭ issue, I am alarmed of what that means depending on perspective. One view, currently being pushed hard, is a more Christian theocracy with a unitary executive branch (think Project 2025 & gerrymandering voting districts) versus those who strive for more equal rights (self-expression, voting rights, etc.) and strengthening тАЬthe commonsтАЭ & less тАЬmoney speaks louderтАЭ control of the electoral process. Seemingly two diametrically opposed views of American democracy. Gives me a headache!
I think one has to be careful in using an us/them dynamic when discussing the тАШsave democracyтАЩ issue. Leaving aside the fact that we have never had democracy, only the idea and aspiration for it, itтАЩs important not to open oneself to accusations of hypocrisy. ItтАЩs also important to differentiate between elected officials and тАШthe peopleтАЩ.
I agree with your Christian theocracy assessment. Your equal rights examples fall short, imo, in that there have been numerous examples of liberal malfeasance regarding self-expression and votings rights. Not saying the effects/intensity are the same, just that they exist.
Guess I wasnтАЩt as clear as IтАЩd intended! Yes, itтАЩs the тАЬotheringтАЭ that distresses meтАжbrings to mind the Dylan lyrics тАЬyou were right from your side, I was right from mineтАЭ. The USA is far from a perfect Union, more a work in slow progressтАжor progress by fits тАШn starts. I liken us all to a spinning top, lean too far left or right and we topple, but a certain amount of тАЬwobbleтАЭ is natural and still keeps us spinning.
In my opinion the US has only a military interest in Israel. It's like an aircraft carrier ensuring others don't take the oil.
Israel makes their own nukes. We did not help them develop them. However the French did.
Well, the gun coming from the us is no surprise, since we are one of the worlds top producer for them. As well as others. Italy, countries in South America. It is an iron cloud.
I applaud HCR for finally addressing the issue after a long absence. I disagree with your assessment that her synopsis is best. I also would quibble with your IтАЩm sure heartfelt desire not to pick a side and just focus on the innocent comment. Picking a side doesnтАЩt mean that one has to condone violence. At the end of the day, one needs to pick on which side of the apartheid/genocide fence one wishes to reside.
I would encourage you to read/watch the following links in their entirety. I learned from each, especially the first three. Peace, t
Israel/Gaza
Max lays it out
https://therealnews.com/did-israels-military-kill-its-own-civilians-on-oct-7
Great interview with an Arab journalist here; preceded by cringing footage from the recent Save Israel rally in DC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tygUOjtMSI0
Why do we support Israel? Answer here.
https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/11/12/why-us-support-israel-geopolitics-michael-hudson/
Poets get it. Politicians donтАЩt.
https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/17/ann-boyers-powerful-new-york-times-resignation-letter/
Caitlin provides the list
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/fifteen-things-you-should-never-have?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=82124&post_id=138964355&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=eov1&utm_medium=email
I will watch.
Preet did a podcast with Fareed Zaharia that gave some backround to the conflict
G, just want to say I appreciate your comments here, most specifically your analysis of the sausage making and political gamesmanship as it relates to the actual inner workings of Congress. Thx.
You are very wekcome. We donтАЩt have to agree on every issue to respect each other and learn from each other. I am wending my way through those links and appreciate that you take the time to prvide the basis for your point of view. Thank you for that
I totally agree. Dr. Richardson always claims that her area of expertise is the American story, but this is the clearest analysis of the current state of the Middle East that I have read. Kudos and thanks.
Completely agree. Her ability to pick out the important news and synthesize it into an accurate, humane, sensible, and convincing narrative is unmatched. SheтАЩs always worth reading.
Her? Is Caitlin? Or?
It's not easy to connect conversations on these sites......
Very good point. My mistake.
Yes , I definitely agree. Now I have a better understanding of this war.