The DISH

Unbossed and unbought news and information you can use

Vol. 9 No. 31…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…August 4, 2006

Bit of History
Qana: Operation Grapes of Wrath (1996)

"How easily we killed them [in Qana] without shedding a tear. We did not denounce the crime, did not arrange for a legal clarification, because this time we tried to deny the abominable horror and move on." Ha'aretz columnist Arieh Shavit (1996)

Qana is a village southeast of Tyre in Southern Lebanon. Qana is the biblical Cana of Galilee, the small town where Jesus performed his first miracle. According to John 2:1-16 (New Testament), Jesus turned water into wine at a Cana marriage. A Jew, Jesus went from Cana to Jerusalem for passover. He found merchants selling oxen, sheep and doves and money changers sitting in the temple; he threw them and the animals out. He admonished dove sellers not to make his father's house "an house of merchandise."

Today, Qana is the site of a massacre committed during Operation Grapes of Wrath launched by Israel against the Party of God or Hezbollah, which fired Katyusha rockets into northern Israel in retaliation for civilian deaths. Nobel Peace Prize winner, Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres ordered the offensive to prove to the Jewish electorate that he was not a "dove." From April 11 to 27, 1996, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) pounded targets in Lebanon. The IDF attacked ambulances, helicopter pilots fired missiles into homes, Israeli jets dropped bombs on roads and bridges, and its gunboats fired on civilian cars fleeing the area--a Hezbollah guerilla could be anywhere.

Heeding Israel's orders to leave, some 400,000 Lebanese fled their homes; 800 took refuge at the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) compound in Qana. On April 18, 1996 Israeli commandos operating inside the UN zone came under fire from Hezbollah guerrillas. Apparently the commandos were laying land mines and booby traps.

The IDF shelled UNIFIL, killing and injuring hundreds. Weeks after the massacre, President Bill Clinton welcomed Peres to the White House. The Israeli government offered various excuses for the Qana massacre. However, a watered-down UN report on Operation Grapes of Wrath determined that it was "highly unlikely" that human or mechanical error caused the carnage at Qana. Sources: (www.counterpunch.org, www.bintjbeil.com and www.time.com/time/international/1996/960520/qana.html)

News You Use
Camp Democracy

The July 27 announcement of an extension of the tour of duty for the 172nd Stryker Brigade energized many military families. Some have joined anti-war groups and are speaking out against the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Gold Star Families for Peace and other groups will join Cindy Sheehan at Camp Casey, Sheehan's annual vigil named in honor of her son killed in Iraq. Sheehan haunts George W. Bush during his August vacation in Crawford, Texas. At the close of Camp Casey, these anti-war groups plan to join others at Camp Democracy on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. from September 5 to 21.

Camp Democracy will expand the anti-war focus to include so much more, including stolen elections, spying on citizens, and launching wars based on lies. US citizens are urged to do as Ukrainians, Mexicans and others when things get this bad" and their democracy has been taken from them." Camp Democracy will occupy the US capital and demand peace, justice, and accountability from the Bush White House and Congress.

For more Camp Democracy information or if you plan to join the capital city demonstration, need transportation and/or DC-area accommodations, log on to www.campdemocracy.org.

Arabia or Arrakis (Dune)
By John Burl Smith

Witnessing the senseless slaughter and wanton destruction in the Middle East today, most people do not understand the causes or see a solution. The sheer scope, convoluted historical and religious backdrop, not to mention the political intrigue of the area, most are baffled by the images flashing across the television, like a Wall Street ticker. Although outraged by the callous indifference to human life shown by Israel and the United States (US), most people feel powerless. Searching for a metaphor that could give clarity to the relentless onslaught that is putting children, woman and elderly in harm's way, I recalled the sci-fi movie Dune. Dune's enormous spectacle is an excellent framework for stretching one's perspective on greed and the lust for power. Its storyline clearly illuminates that like the Bene Gesserit Rev. Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (Siân Phillips), Condoleezza Rice deliberately manipulates the horror taking place in Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza and Lebanon for purely political reasons.

Juxtaposing Arrakis ("Dune") against the reality in the Middle East, where oil wells pump the lifeblood of the world's economy, the US role becomes coherent. In the year 10191, Arrakis' powerless inhabitants are oppressed by a superpower, because the universe depends on their natural resource, the spice "Melange," which is found only on Arrakis. The spice enables people to travel without moving, extends life and gives psychic powers to those who use it. Only the very wealthy and powerful have access to the spice, therefore "He who controls the spice, controls the universe!"

Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (Jose Ferrer) controls spice mining. He is, in turn, controlled by the Space Guild that controls the universe. This is not too different from our own world where George W. Bush, like the Emperor, is trying to control the world economy for elites that run big oil, the Carlyle Group, the military-industrial-complex, etc. Doing their bidding, Bush is trying to disguise his disastrous decision to invade Iraq, while preempting the growing influence of oil rich Arab countries which threaten the power exercised by these elites.

Conspiring with Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan), a bitter enemy of Duke Leto Atreides (Jurgen Prochnow), the Emperor plots a proxy war to eliminate the threat to the Space Guild's total control. The Emperor's plan transfers control of spice mining on Arrakis from House Harkonen (Israel) to House Atreides (Arabs) which appears to shift the balance of power. Seizing the chance to best his old enemy, Duke Leto moves to Arrakis, where he is betrayed and murdered on the Emperor's orders.

Unfolding before our eyes today in the Middle East is the same kind of plot. Scripted like a Shakespearian tragedy, Israel is Bush's proxy, trying to goad Iran and Syria into a war for control of the world's oil supply. Reduced to the role of conspirator, the Emperor cannot allow the rest of his world to learn that his decision to give spice production to House Harkonen, like Bush's misadventure in Iraq, has blown up in his face and spice production has tanked.

The real problem for the Emperor is not Duke Leto; it is the oppressed desert people on Arrakis. Harsh and inhospitable, Arrakis is home to an Arab-like people, the Fremen that believe "God created Arrakis to train the faithful" and "Will send a 'Kwisatz Haderach' (a Messiah) to lead a Jihad. This prophecy is not too different from what so-called jihadists today believe.

Unlike in the movie, Arabs do not have a "Muad'dib!" Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan), the son of Duke Atreides, looming. The international community is so inured of the US/Israeli axis, it will do nothing to help the desperate defenseless people of Lebanon, which is why Hezbollah was organized in the first place. The danger in this trap for Muslims is not trying to gain power, but taking the bait, which makes it seem that they will loose power, if they do not engage Israel with arms. However, like in the movie, if Muslims speak with one voice, the sound can be killing words, like "Muad'dib!" All Muslims need to say is, "We will sell our oil in euros, if Israel does not stop the killing and withdraw from Lebanon immediately!"

Disgruntled wants to know: On July 13th, the Ceyhan-Tblisi-Baku (BTC) oil pipeline opened. Carrying more than a million barrels of oil a day to Western markets, BTC links the Caspian Sea to the Eastern Mediterranean. According to a number of foreign policy analysts, the main partners and shareholders of the BTC pipeline project-- British Petroleum, Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, France's Total and Italy's ENI-- look to Israel to play a strategic role in protecting the Eastern Mediterranean transportation and pipeline corridors. They claim long run plans call for more Israeli aggression to secure control over a wider swath of the region; these plans involve Iran and Syria. Are global analysts right -- is there a connection between BTC and the bombing of Lebanon?

Disgruntled feels: Monstrous! A spinster, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, as far as we know, has never endured nine-months of pregnancy and given birth vaginally, yet she made the analogy between violence in the Middle East and the pangs of childbirth. If she was a mother, Dr. Rice could not be so out of synch with the rest of humanity. As spokesperson for George W. Bush's militaristic foreign policy to prevent the "status quo ante," Dr. Rice will go down in history for giving birth to a vicious monster.

Disgruntled says: The Republican-controlled Congress passed a minimum wage bill with an amendment to lower estate taxes. With this poison pill, the measure is unlikely to pass the Senate. Yet, these folks will campaign this fall and boast of having voted for an increase in the minimum wage.

Atlanta Vibe
Frankie was A-Mazing
By John Burl Smith

With the Hot-lanta temperature boiling in the low nineties, throngs of A-Mazed fans poured into the Chastain Amphitheater on Friday night (7-29-06) to party with Frankie Beverly and Maze under the stars. As the sizzling sun set, emergency services worked overtime helping fans cope with the heat. Partygoers to this annual love-feast, which ceased to be a concert three years ago, were undaunted by the sweltering temperature; when Frankie comes to town, "the party is on!" Each year the faithful come loaded down with picnic baskets, pick-up-and-go party packages, coolers, candles and all manner of goodies to get down after sundown with Frankie.

A-Mazingly, one of the oldest continuous performing groups after forty-five years on the road, today Frankie Beverly and Maze's popularity eclipses the success they experienced when the songs they sing were burning up the charts as number one hits. Some say the group was always ahead of the curve; others feel Maze was so today when they first sang their songs that they never seem old.

On behalf of their adoring fans, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin gave Frankie Beverly the Key to the City and a certificate of Appreciation for the many years of enjoyment he has given fans. It may have been political to some, but given their 45 year career, sharing their unique expression with the world, it was a deserved recognition for a class act.

Talking about his career, Frankie told how his band called Raw Soul was discovered by Marvin Gaye, who changed their name to Maze. After his stroll down memory lane, Frankie dropped a big surprise on his fans with news of a long-awaited album. He said, "I know everybody wanted to see that. But I don't do things on whims. It takes a long time to do anything that is good-- to make love, to be a lover or to create art. I refuse to put out anything that does not match the quality of what we have already produced. Now we have. We are going to release a new album soon entitled Anticipation. The wait is over!" Is that A-Mazing?

Intuit's Vibe
Distracted, damn right I am! (Excerpts)
By Georgia Stillwell

When I returned home from my trip to Washington DC., where I met with various Senators, Representatives and the Speaker of the House as part of Military Families Speak Out Operation House Call, I received a notice of pending termination of my employment. Is seems I am distracted!

My priorities in life have changed since the war began. It has become my passion, my mission to be part of the frontline of peace. My son still suffers from his participation in this war. He has killed men, women and children. Yes, let us not pretend that our soldiers are not killing innocents. My son lives with it everyday. "We thought the little boy had a bomb." My son weeps as he sits in the bottom of the shower ....he feels there is nothing left of his spirit at 22. Alive but dead inside.

I deeply feel the pain of others. I listen to Gold Star Mothers cry and beg God to bring back their child just one more time. I relate to the Mothers whose soldiers came back and killed themselves. I hear the similarities of stories like my son's. I think about the wives whose husbands return and vent their frustrations on them. I work in human services and have started to see the Iraq vet's here. They are in so much pain, bleeding all over the place with invisible blood. Then, there are the Iraqi people. Forgive us! My heart breaks again.

Martin Luther King Jr. said "There comes a time when silence is betrayal." I have embraced that thought 100%. I do not pretend to have political savvy or be well versed on foreign affairs. I am just the mother of a soldier.

I beseech the people of America to step out of your comfort zones; get out of those easy chairs. Pour out into the streets and demand an end to this war. Many of us are out here in the frontlines are waiting, wondering "Where is America?" Our children are dying, again.

Politics Y2K6
Neither the power to act, or to influence (excerpts)
By Ben Tanosborn

Among the many ethnic groups that have found fertile ground for success in America, few have achieved the degree of proportional prominence of Lebanese-Americans. In most cases, their fellow Americans [non-Lebs] are unaware of that fact since these Lebanese-Americans go about their lives without broadcasting the heritage of which they are so proud. Many of us, at least those who are boomers or older, do remember Danny Thomas, Casey Kasem, Neil Sedaka, Paul Anka and Tiny Tim.

It was only logical that here in the US the Lebanese-American community would be up in arms in response to both Israel's actions and America's cheerleading of those such actions - to the point where it became irrelevant whether the policy that brought about this conflict had originated in Tel Aviv or in Washington. Informally, without resorting to a high level of networking, Lebanese-Americans let those assumed to have power and influence know how they felt....Congress had very little power and, on an issue involving Israel, zero influence.

They were put in the embarrassing position of having to deny their own feelings, forced to lend their voices to the rest of the choir lauding Israel's actions. It was either that or else. Else, one asks? Can anyone fathom the repercussions for straying on support for Israel by condemning or even appearing lukewarm to its actions? Forget about reelection!

Whether there is a parasitic or a symbiotic relationship between the United States and Israel, the bottom line is that the existing alliance is enmeshed in such a way that the fate of one nation is tied to the fate of the other. And that to think for a moment that any group, other than the Israel "lobby," can exert any influence on America's political behavior is like subscribing to the existence of a make-believe world. Yet, Americans prefer to remain in denial.

Power and influence in US foreign relations are an "all or nothing" situation when Israel is involved. You either possess all the influence, or you have none. And to make matters worse, things have changed very little in the two millennia since Tacitus told us that "In times of tumult and discord bad men have most power." Bad men… not in terms of "good and evil" as Bush simplistically would have Americans believe. The battle for peace is not between good and evil, but between "the purveyors of suffering and those who suffer." Indeed, the purveyors of suffering are the bad men who have most power.

At this point the situation in Lebanon is quickly becoming a lost game… with just a few seconds left in the political clock, and the Peace team having the ball deep in its own territory. Peace is certainly in need of another football hero like Doug Flutie (a Leb, of course) to save the day with a Hail-Mary pass… but, although we know that Bush has the arm to throw the pass and save the day, he is unfortunately playing for the other team, not the Peace team.

In truth, the catalyst needed for the (peace) process to take place would require Bush switching to, and quarterbacking, the Peace team. He will never have a better opportunity to clean up the mess he inherited, and the one of his own making. Unfortunately, the chance of that happening is probably one in a million. (Source: Read the essay in its entirety at www.tanosborn.com)

Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and Telephone Calls

Email justicequest2000@yahoo.com In reference to Iraq during a war-on-terror forum at the University of Virginia Law School on Sept. 10, 2002, Philip Zelikow asked, "Why would Iraq attack America or use nuclear weapons against us? I'll tell you what the real threat [is] and actually has been since 1990 -- it's the threat against Israel. And this is the threat that dares not speak its name because...the American government doesn't want to lean too hard on it rhetorically because it's not a popular sell."

Email www.nytimes.com The Rev. Gregory A. Boyd leads a congregation outside St. Paul. ... Before the last presidential election, he preached six sermons called "The Cross and the Sword" in which he said the church should steer clear of politics, give up moralizing on sexual issues, stop claiming the US as a "Christian nation" and stop glorifying US military campaigns. "When the church wins the culture wars, it inevitably loses," Mr. Boyd preached. "When it conquers the world, it becomes the world. When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the cross."

Email http://infowars.net WWIII and the New Status Quo Ante Agenda…By Steve Watson... The elite few and the international bankers that ply them with endless wealth to fund the killing and reap back the profits are in control. The political world is going to be changed for ever by a totally staged managed escalation of violence that will foment a pre-scripted third world war.

|| 2006 Issues || The DISH ||