First, read this.Chew on it. It's possible that Arafat is a barrier to peace. Unlike otherswho definitely are though, his messages, at least those that make it to theUnited States (which might be a subset) don't seem to be generallypro-violence. However, just because someone isn't pro-violence doesn't meantheir ends can be accomplished without it, and the same goes for Israel.One thing that does worry me about hopes for his removal is that it might notbe about peace, but rather removing a major national symbol and focus for thePalestinians. We know that, at least in Israeli politics (I won't presume tocomment on the character of the nation as a whole), there are a lot ofpeople who have opinions in line with the idea of removal of Palestiniansin general, in line with either the racist aspects of the religion or theracist aspects of the nationalism (although the two don't shake hands witheach other, and there are nonracists in the middle). I wonder, perhaps, ifthere's a line of thinking that with Arafat killed or removed, the Palestinianswill lose heart, and will be content with the current system there, whichI consider to really suck for them. Yeah yeah, sure, people tell me thatIsrael is actually good for Palestinians... bullshit. Living in any country
- cough* that has laws heavily influenced or written for a religious or a
Maybe the U.N. should step in, remove the state apparatus and establishorder, controlling the education system, and get the races mixing andinteracting at an early age, strangling zionism and palestinian nationalism,so this can be the last generation to suffer this. The generation as a borderbetween barbarism and civilization... Maybe there's something else.
Comment capability will be coming RSN (Real Soon Now), so once youregister, you'll actually be able to leave comments here, when it's done.Scary thought :)
On the topic of social problems, Dubin, someone I met online I'llcall AF, and I had a nice long chat on AIM last night. Both of themare into psychology/social work, and the topics ranged between areas intheir professions, social problems, and some other things. It was a goodconversation..
Yesterday, on the way back, I swung by Giant Eagle to get some moreCat Litter, and was listening to music with my headphones, and reacheddown to scoop the basket up with my hand... and scooped it right into myhead. I'm such an idiot -- I was bleeding from my forehead from a basket-inducedwound. I wish I could've seen it though, it probably would've been very funny.
Oh, if you're a geek, there's some stuff for you too:Perl Design Pattern Commentary - Interesting. Grab the other 2 as well.Ford is switching to Linux, and as a result, Redhat's teaming up witha longtime competitor. Technical politics are heating up at work. Things mightget very interesting soon, as there's a crossroads where not all us techiesagree, and the management is unsure, that'll make a big difference. Sadly,for you, dear reader, I don't really think it'd be kosher to spread too muchinternal stuff to the world.
