tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52694472009-02-20T15:41:18.676-08:00thoughts on the nature of military occupation and whether it is ever really a liberationchrisnoreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-86331029659527315562008-10-08T08:42:00.000-07:002008-10-08T10:11:16.654-07:00

Yesterday the US Army held a press conference  regarding its new field manual, The Stability Operations Field Manual, which essentially amplifies the new philosophy of military occupation as successful nation building. It's not simply the Army's job to forcefully enter a country and beat the bad guys, it is its job to create a new country in the shell of the old and see that it becomes a

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-46282466618641496112008-03-09T18:06:00.001-07:002008-03-09T18:12:39.806-07:00

Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Greater Jerusalem have long enabled a stranglehold on the Palestinian economy. Here's the way it works: build an illegal settlement, get the military to protect it, use coercive means to "control" the Arab population. This is no secret. It continues the long held narrative that only One people deserve the land. So long as this type of Military Occupation

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-60094142569528491512008-01-10T11:57:00.000-08:002008-01-10T12:08:55.617-08:00

The BBC has an article posted that is titled "Bush Urges Israeli occupation end." But then, just when we muster enough hope to read, the opening sentence reads,"US President George W Bush has said Israel must end its occupation of some Arab land to enable the creation of a viable Palestinian state."Talk about a headline that doesn't really mean what it says!But on a lighter note, had I been in

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-17956450988342391842008-01-08T08:59:00.000-08:002008-01-08T09:03:17.322-08:00

You may think your commute time to work in the morning is a headache, but check out this article comparing what Israelis and Palestinians have to go through on their perspective commutes.

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1128668594686143452007-12-31T12:59:00.001-08:002007-12-31T13:41:39.931-08:00

Today I've been looking at the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, contemplating that word "rights" which it employs throughout, and marveling at the fact that my country (the USA) can use it so freely and yet continue to employ military occupation as a means to a "democratic" end. Let me begin with this word "rights." I really don't like the word. It's so cold. It suggests entitlement. It

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1022303755477341542007-12-26T11:56:00.000-08:002007-12-26T12:03:13.365-08:00

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-11511935183037477392007-05-10T12:21:00.000-07:002007-05-10T13:00:12.986-07:00

I can walk down the street here in Chicago and never see an armed soldier standing patrol. Every night on the news I see them though. Standing guard on the other side of the planet. Far enough away that I can choose not to think about it. But sometimes, like when a tornado destroys a town in Kansas, I hear that here at home the states suffer from a lack of vehicles in the event of crisis. Why?

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-72574886052850863652007-05-10T12:17:00.000-07:002007-05-10T12:46:15.579-07:00

The Palestinian Christian is an endangered species.When the modern state of Israel was established there were about 400,000 of us. Two years ago the number was down to 80,000. Now it’s down to 60,000. At that rate, in a few years there will be none of us left. When this happens non-Christian groups will move into our churches and claim them forever.Palestinian Christians within Israel fare little

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-61791790216115015452007-04-24T07:43:00.000-07:002007-04-24T07:45:01.754-07:00

Disruptive Grace has a dead-on reflection regarding America’s need to build walls.

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-74063446750224903322007-03-20T07:15:00.000-07:002007-03-20T07:17:18.289-07:00

I hadn't seen this before but it's worth checking out. Great links. Good discussion starter.

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-36535700009506183832007-03-20T07:10:00.000-07:002007-03-20T07:11:51.489-07:00

Since when did Prayer come to equal Solidarity? Granted there are all kinds ways to pray, but for Christians there is a clear directive to pray for God’s Will, and to claim that any particular nation’s will is the same as God’s is blasphemous according to the Bible, is it not? This first occured to me as I drove past a synagogue here in Chicago and saw two large signs on the front lawn that

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-53707449913985364212007-03-06T08:04:00.000-08:002007-03-06T08:10:11.401-08:00

Well I can't say I'm too surprised, but I am disappointed. Ali Abuminah reports on Barack Obama's about face on Middle East politics in his article How Barack Obama learned to love Israel. If disappointing, given his historically close relations to Palestinian-Americans, Obama's about-face is not surprising. He is merely doing what he thinks is necessary to get elected and he will continue doing

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-24381695604209622652007-01-26T08:21:00.000-08:002007-01-26T08:23:56.419-08:00

Steve Inskeep did his follow up interview with Ken Stein this morning. Comparing the two interviews, I have to say that the final one was a let-down, but a good one. Inskeep put Carter on the defensive and let him battle his way back. But in interviewing Stein, Inskeep just lets him talk--and Stein's accusations don't seem to hold enough weight to make it interesting.Inskeep: A layman might ask:

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-10970109729330326742007-01-25T13:09:00.000-08:002007-01-26T07:55:23.590-08:00

**crossposted on A Desperate Kind of FaithfulI'm convinced that when you become President of the United States something happens to you as a human being. I don't see how it can't. You'd have to represent the most powerful nation in all the world. More than that you have to lead what it has become. Bear in mind that in modern Statecraft a nation is the sum of it's interests. While we're led to

chrisnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1742462784066476862007-01-17T09:14:00.000-08:002007-01-17T09:33:47.113-08:00

http://www.forward.com/articles/the-case-for-carter/Tags: Military Occupation, Israel, Palestine, Jimmy Carter, Yossi Beilin

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-78997117533438571532007-01-03T19:59:00.000-08:002007-01-03T20:01:10.569-08:00

"As many as 654,965 more Iraqis may have died since hostilities began in Iraq in March 2003 than would have been expected under pre-war conditions, according to a survey conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Al Mustansiriya University in Baghdad." Tags: Iraqi civillians, casualties, collateral damage

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-5746083405219007652006-10-24T09:17:00.000-07:002006-10-24T09:21:20.711-07:00

Martin Buber's work for a homeland for both Jews and Arabs is fascinating.He began Brit Shalom in 1925. I just added a link to the organization under Good Resources.Tags: Martin Buber, Brit Shalom, Jews, Arabs, coexistence

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-57859293802678312432006-10-15T11:57:00.000-07:002006-10-15T12:00:47.862-07:00

I posted a new excerpt from the Elias Rishmawi interview of 2003 onto Google Video. (14:20) Tags: Beit Sahour, Elias Rishmawi, Google Video, Military Occupation, taxation, Intifada, 1988

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-87273611108378178402006-10-05T11:54:00.000-07:002006-10-05T11:55:18.830-07:00

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1158073433701043582006-09-12T08:03:00.000-07:002006-09-12T08:03:53.763-07:00

.25 miles to the former blood alley to take my four year old girl to school. corner one: I am solicited for money for food. corner two: I catch sight of a newspaper headline that reads "US in a Struggle for Civilization" corner three: Broadway and Wilson. Nothing.corner four: a bike rider strangely warns us all of "the coming pigeon shit." He yells out "don't slip there."

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1153413132086122202006-07-20T09:15:00.000-07:002006-07-20T09:32:12.133-07:00

ISRAEL MUST STOP BOMBING LEBANON NOW!This is crazy! Bombing civilians is not an answer to kidnapping soldiers.Why won't the UN speak out on this? Why won't the American people speak out?Why instead are we talking about possible Hezbollah attacks on America?Not in My Name

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1149261826242736692006-06-02T08:23:00.000-07:002006-06-02T08:23:46.280-07:00

I heard some soldier say on the news yesterday "we are guests of the Iraqis and we will conduct ourselves in such a manner." I can't believe the audacity of this statement! As if the Iraqis invited the US to invade! As if the search and seizure of raids into their homes was by invitation! As if the detainment of hundreds of innocent civilians into prison camps was something "nice" we were doing

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1144856552645193282006-04-12T08:42:00.000-07:002006-04-12T08:42:33.593-07:00

This film on the military industrial complex looks really good! The site has lots of clips. I wish it were showing here in Chicago. Why We Fight: A film by Eugene Jarecki A must see once it's portable.

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1144079356734526022006-04-03T08:33:00.000-07:002006-04-03T08:49:16.746-07:00

US and British foreign reps tell the Iraqi government to Get a Move On!In essence they're saying "This democracy thing is easy! What's taking so long? And just to prove it we'll actually spend the night in your God-forsaken country instead of fleeing within a few hours."Condi Rice said, "I told them that a lot of treasure, a lot of human treasure, has been put on the line to give Iraq the chance

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1133452868567195512005-12-01T08:01:00.000-08:002005-12-01T08:01:08.636-08:00

Ok, now here's an odd twist that reflects the nuance of Occupation. Iraqi kidnappers nabbed CPTers and ISMers who are working in behalf of Palestinians in the West Bank. In a Press Release Islam and National Forces there speak up on their behalf and witness to their work against Occupation. Now obviously CPT and ISM are against terrorism. Still it is puzzling who is good and bad here. Hamas and

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0