Thursday, February 12, 2009

Optimism: A Conversation About The Israeli Elections

An interesting conversation was struck up by S and myself over results of the election in Israel where Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni’s Kadima party won the contest by a single seat over Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu's Likud party. They’re still arguing over who can form a coalition government, a decision President Simon Peres will have to make. I’m pink. S is green.

Is it looking like Livni? Or Franken?

Are you talking about the Lady who said "they need to know we will go wild" and in her country they call her a "centrist moderate"? Yep it is looking that she may be leading.

There's an old Vulcan saying S: Only Nixon can go to China. Bibi's no Nixon.

I don't know what kind of pacifist you expect to come to power, conditions being what they are. Both sides are pretty brutalized.

Oh and by the way, the Parliamentary system suuucks!


I let the numbers (in the past 9 years), the UN and Non-Governmental Organizations speak for themselves. Only if the news media (and I am talking the TV) in the US and in Livni's country would show what the rest of world saw during the three week war...

But I am optimistic...


Doesn't it look like Bibi's going to have an easier time putting together a coalition? Or is there something I'm missing in my 28 seconds of research?

Does seem like if you carry the bomb yourself you're a terrorist and if you program a plane to do it you're a defender.

I've had this argument in my head. If people were lobbing in rockets from Canada (as the metaphor goes) what would we do? I keep saying, well, we wouldn't go to war with Canada, we'd do some kind of police action, major, but we wouldn't blow up Toronto. Then I say, yeah, but what if the government of Canada were itself encouraging the rocket-fire, and providing and firing the rockets. The Palestinians seem to have a gift for sabotaging any sympathy they might
get in the western world. I don't think they did themselves many favors by electing war-mongers to head their government.

My point is this: we should invade Canada.


I am trying to be optimistic, only because you are.

I am talking about hard numbers and data out of the region collected by the UN, news reporters (Europeans and others), NGOs and other observers about the last three week war and the two years before that.

Palestinians have lots of sympathy in the (People of) Western world but not as much in the US and the question is why. Same disconnect happened with the Iraq war: Iraq war was opposed by almost all the People (British, Spanish, Germans, Italians, French....) of the Western world but not by Americans and the question is why.

About Canada: Many Americans would understand that Canada would fire rockets if the US closed Canada's borders, collected their taxes and did not allow food or medicine in Canada for TWO years despite repeated agreements. Under this scenario, one might be much more sympathetic or understanding to Canadian rocket fires. Also, if one took in account that Only in the last TWO years US had killed over 1200 people while Canadian rockets killed at most 20 people in Nine years (according to all official numbers), one's view may become less steady.

What if we were already controlling Canada against their wish in all other ways?

S

P.S. Dan I am not be able to discuss this any further by e-mail despite all my desire because it is taking too much of my time that I don't have. I am still fighting the battle of Iraq war that ended in loss of funding for science under the Bush administration and left us scientists in a pretty shaky situation. But I will be more than happy to talk with you about this face to face over a drink, even though I can not enjoy drinks these days too much. Hope you won't be mad at me.

I was not mad at S, as I could never be mad at S. A food eating entertainment was set up, as was this blog. and the conversation will no doubt continue…

--Dan Kilian and S

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Iraq

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