Suggested reading, checking out the lake right now

London Review of Books has published a series of short editorials on the brutality in Gaza. They are interesting and worth reading.

Tariq Ali seems to call for a one-state solution, which is something I don't have an informed opinion about. I think Edward Said is like the only other person in history to have held that position.

"The war on Gaza has killed the two-state solution by making it clear to Palestinians that the only acceptable Palestine would have fewer rights than the Bantustans created by apartheid South Africa."

David Bromwich hits the nail on the head with respect to our inability to grasp (and unwillingness to condemn) the disproportionality here.

Like the suicide bombings of the Second Intifada, the rockets from Gaza were a choice of tactics of a spectacular vengefulness. The spectacle was greater than the damage: no Israeli had been killed by a rocket before the IDF launched their assault. Yet the idea of rockets falling induces terror, whereas the idea of an army invading a neighbouring territory has an official sound. The numbers of the dead – as of 15 January, more than 1000 Palestinians and fewer than 20 Israelis – tell a different story. Many people remain unmoved by the tremendous disproportion because they cannot get the image of rockets out of their heads.

Further, he makes this statement about Obama.

The unhappy message of his recent utterances has been reconciliation without truth; and reconciliation, above all, for Americans. This preference for bringing-together over bringing-to-light is a trait of Obama’s political character we are only now coming to see the extent of. It is an element – until lately an unperceived element – of a certain native moderation of temper that is likely to mark his presidency. Yet his silence on Gaza has been startling, even immoderate.

Conor Gearty (never heard of him) says something more hopeful about Obama, and then goes on to trot out a list of possible U.S. actions that would only happen in a Utopian dreamland.

"It is just possible the killings in Gaza may mark the end of Israel’s disastrous plunge into militant Zionism. The key is Obama: will he collapse under pressure like most of his predecessors, or is there more to him? Let us assume he knows how senseless it is for the US to collude in a crime of the kind going on in Gaza."

R.W. Johnson's (also never heard of him) contribution is maybe the best - pessimistic about Obama, brings in some explanation of why it happened which I think is useful.

The present crisis was probably unavoidable given (a) Iran’s position, (b) the coming Israeli election and (c) the failure of Israel to achieve full-scale victory over Hizbullah last year. That last factor has weighed on all minds, showing Iran how much leverage it had, threatening to turn all Arab-occupied land into rocket-launching grounds and increasing Israeli determination to show that this is a prohibitively expensive option for anyone who opts to host such an exercise. The stalemate seems complete.

I doubt whether Obama will make much difference. His chief of staff is an ex-Israeli soldier and his administration will be heavily in hock to the Israel lobby from day one. Israel may be unhappy that he will talk to Hamas but this unhappiness is quite unnecessary. He is not going to soft-talk them into accepting Israel’s existence and laying down their rockets, so what will such talks really change?

The real key remains US-Iran relations.

With respect to that last one . . . does anyone know what Rahm Emanuel did for Israel? People say he was in the IDF, several sources online say he "volunteered for the IDF in the Gulf War," which means something like nothing, and I've also heard that he basically made bricks or something f0r the IDF on a volunteer basis. His Wikipedia page says nothing at all about it.

Related - what about that missing digit? I've heard he lost it in a bar brawl, that he lost it making bricks or something for the IDF on a volunteer basis, and from his Wikipedia page that he lost it working at Arby's. It seems Rahm is a mystery man of the highest order. However, it is quite clear that he is a vile person who helped turn the Democratic Party into the center wing of the GOP in the '90's. I hope he goes away sooner rather than later.

Anyway, check out the London Review of Books link.

I'm at Lago Atitlan right now, and it is quite beautiful. A bit of advice if you ever come here: don't go to San Pedro. It is over run with Ras-Trent and company, as well as their German co-dreads, Ras-Hans and Ras-Gretel. It's really not even worth stopping there, except to rent a kayak. I think Santa Cruz seems a little bit nicer.

.