Technically I'm not supposed to think about this stuff, but...

I've been thinking about Israel a lot lately.

I used to think that while the Palestinians shouldn't be bombing Israel, it was wrong of the UN to give Palestine to the Jews in the first place, because someone already lived there, and that it was also wrong of the Israeli law to treat the Arabs differently than they treated Jews.

I still think that Israel needs to provide non-Jews with more rights and equality. I abhor a religious state, and while Israel is not at the level of the surrounding nations, not by a long shot, they clearly value the Jewish religion above all else. I would feel differently if, say, the Law of Return applied only to ethnic Jews, as in, people who are actually of Jewish ancestry by blood, instead of this business of "if your mother was a Jew or you converted to Judaism," which is a religious definition, not an ethnic one. I understand that Jews are persecuted worldwide and I understand the value of a homeland. I want Tibet to be returned to the Tibetans, too. But a Jewish state should be a state of ethnic Jews, not a state of Jewish religion. A blonde, white, Caucasian Jewish convert with the last name Smith is not really going to be persecuted on the same level as a dark-haired, olive skinned ethnic Jew with the last name Goldstein. What's more, the Law of Return completely ignores ethnic Jews who are not practicing, or whose mothers were not Jewish.

They also have a tendency to deny residency and immigration rights to Israeli Arabs under the pretext of preventing terrorism, and they tend to place predominantly Jewish towns before Arab towns. Not to mention the whole Dome of the Rock issue. There's a lot of racism and religious persecution, which happens every time a bunch of people who were once a persecuted minority become the majority. So I still think their laws need to change, same as I feel for most countries.

However, I've been looking at their history, and I've changed my mind about whether they should have been given the nation. Was there racism involved? Yeah, I mean, Britain didn't give up their colony in Palestine for years when the native Arabs wanted it, and then as soon as there was a Jewish majority, they gave it up. I have no doubt but that there was prejudice involved on the part of the UN. That said, even though Jews had not particular right to the land simply because their ancestors lived there, there WAS a Jewish majority when Israel was founded. They got their autonomy fairly. The expansion of the state to gain control of water sources was also reasonable. Doing it to gain Jerusalem for religious reasons or to get more land, not so much.

At this point I've basically decided that I don't support either side, but if I had to choose, I'd support Israel. They have less to do before I would consider them to be a reasonable and just nation; Palestine is basically under Shari'ah law. I think they should pull back, stop occupying surrounding territories and focus on defensive methods, and make their nation more secular. I also think that Egypt and Jordan need to open their borders to Palestinian immigration, since many Palestinians are actually Jordians and Egyptians who came to Israel when the Israelis began to develop the land and provide jobs.

But I don't think it's that easy. I think the entire region is very complicated, and both sides are at fault. And that the next time a nuclear weapon is used in war, it's gonna be on Israel.

Nuclear Terrorism on Mecca

Here's an interesting topic Ryter and I were discussing last night.

What would happen if an American (or Israeli) dropped a nuke on Mecca?

Not the country-- an individual. The US government wouldn't do that unless something specific provoked it, like Saudi Arabian Islamic terrorists nuked Washington, and even then it would be doubtful. Israel would wait until they were nuked first. But if a terrorist group of Islamic extremists could fly planes into the World Trade Center, an American anti-Muslim extremist could theoretically smuggle in or drop a nuclear bomb on Mecca.

Then what?

Well, if it was an American, I'd guess the US would immediately find all contacts of the individual and turn over anyone who had knowledge of or involvement in the plan for trial and execution. We'd also send as much aid as possible to the area, trying to make reparations and prove to the world that it wasn't our doing and we don't support terrorists.

Meanwhile the entire Muslim world would hate us anyway, and eventually, a world war would break out.

And if it was an Israeli, I'd guess Israel would also make reparations, but in a kind of half-hearted way, due to international pressure. Then there would be a war between every single Muslim nation and Israel, and possibly with the US allying with Israel.

Meanwhile, what would happen to Mecca?

I am reminded of the Ganges River in India. Hinduism states that the Ganges is sacred, and bathing in it helps a person to obtain salvation. Drinking the water at the end of your life will take your soul to heaven. Spreading of ashes there is also holy.

But the Ganges River itself runs through some of the most populous areas of India. It is thus filled with untreated raw sewage, runoff from the leather industries, partially burnt or unburnt human remains, and livestock corpses. It is a steaming cesspool of filth and disease, and the Hindus still come. They come, they bathe, they get sick. They touch this vile, polluted, revolting river because they consider it holy.

So I believe the Muslims would still go to Mecca. They would go to the radioactive ruins of Mecca and then die slowly of radiation poisoning. Not all of them, but many. So nuking a site that people of a faith MUST go to, the terrorist would be committing a crime against humanity ten times worse than Hiroshima and Nagasaki, because you would kill not only the million or so inhabitants, but also the pilgrims (especially if it was during the hajj, with four million pilgrims), and give radiation poisoning to millions of Muslims who would try to go at some point before the fallout cleared. Most Muslims would not go before they had children and were old and able to die, so the population would not decrease.

The trouble is that the ground itself is holy. It's not just the Black Stone and the Zamzam Well and the Kaaba. That is the land where Muhammad walked, and thus, it would be holy even if to touch it was to guarantee a long, slow, painful death.

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I have to say, if I ruled the world, I would turn Mecca into the Muslim version of the Holy See-- a separate, unique state not controlled by the country it is within. I'd also say they had to allow non-Muslims to visit (but not during the hajj, because of the sheer volumes of pilgrims they already must handle). I would love to see Mecca some day-- I would even wear a hijab for respect if it was asked of me-- but I never will be able to, because Saudi Arabia has banned all non-Muslims from entering the city. Even if that were not the case, I would be hesitant to go anywhere in Saudi Arabia because of Sharia law.

It saddens me to think of all the ancient holy cities-- Mecca, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Cairo, and more-- that I would not be safe in as a woman, as a American, and as a non-religious person. So much history, and it is trapped in a place filled with hate and war. It feels sometimes like the land there is just so sick of dealing with humanity that it almost NEEDS fallout just to give it a chance to breathe, to take a break from tens of thousands of years of civilization. And yet, what we would lose would be unbearable, for while Africa is where we were born, the Middle East is where we grew, and where we became what we are today.

Part 5 of the 2008 politics series

And now, Hillary's runner-up, Obama:

1. He wants to focus on ethanol as a fuel source, which is not really the best option. At least he's willing to consider nuclear research.

2. He has said he wants to EXPAND the military. And attack Pakistan, if he thought it would get rid of al-Quaeda; and Iran, if it was a potential threat to us. I want to get AWAY from this crazy enormous military that we use like Nanny 911 to the world!

3. He's totally pro-Israel too. See my Clinton comment.

Yet he favors stem-cell research, guaranteeing certain rights for homosexuals, ensuring that abortion remains legal, not allowing amnesty for illegals, and a merit pay system for teachers and increasing teacher salaries, which could go a long way towards improving public schools. At the same time, though, the programs he wants to implement would cost a lot of money and if he tries to do them before he pulls out of Iraq we'll severely increase the deficit. I think in that case his lack of experience is an actual problem because he doesn't seem to understand the fiscal difficulties of his plans. Either that, or he's lying through his teeth.

Part 3 of the 2008 Politics Series

I'll do the last two Republican candidates together because there's no way I'd vote for either of them, and here's why.

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Mitt Romney:

1. He is very anti-abortion, though he may allow the states to decide. That's uncertain.

2. He supports No Child Left Behind, charter schools and vouchers. As stated before, I pretty much hate all those ideas.

3. He is pro-abstinence-only education, which is moronic. Abstinence-only education DOESN'T WORK. Duh.

4. His stance on environmental issues is basically "if it immediately hurts humans, stop it-- but if it doesn't, and we can get money off of it, then screw long-term effects!"

5. He opposes rights for homosexuals.

6. He would push to limit stem cell research, which could save millions of lives.

7. He opposes medical marijuana.

8. He approves of Guantanamo, and will not allow the prisoners there to have judicial review, which is a violation of the Geneva Convention and besides, it makes the US look like total hypocrites because we insist that everyone treat people in their countries a certain way and yet we don't do it ourselves.

9. He would increase troops in Iraq and continue that war.

10. He would refuse to meet with leaders of nations whom he disagreed with, or who are dictators. Now, I'm not saying we should appease every dictator who comes along, but there is a lot to be said for opening diplomatic relations with countries, even if we don't really like their methods.

I agree with his stance against censorship, against prayer in public schools, for encouraging tech research (well, it's better than other uses of the money),and that he opposes amnesty. None of those are strong enough to make me want to vote for him, ever. He's conservative on social issues AND he's a war hawk.

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As for the final Republican, John McCain:

1. He wants to continue the Iraq war, increasing troops, and wouldn't be opposed to invading Iran.

2. He is completely pro-Israel, and anti-Palestine. I'd rather we had a President who left Israel/Palestine alone, because there's too much emotion and religion wrapped up in that, and we don't need to be involved. Not that we should stop aiding Israel, but we should stop being so overt about it.

3. He would keep Guatanamo Bay as it is, like Romney would.

4. He is very pro-drug legislation, which means no medical marijuana and more of the "War on Drugs."

5. He supports school vouchers.

6. HE BELIEVES INTELLIGENT DESIGN SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS. Gah. *headdesk*

7. He wants Roe v. Wade to be overturned, and he is against birth control and contraceptives. He would push to redefine not just fetuses, but embryos as well (an embryo is what you call it between fertilization and the 8th week of gestation) as people. He also is a supporter of abstinence-only education, which means that not only can young women not abort the mistakes but they won't know how to prevent them in the first place.

8. He wants to ban flag desecration, which is just stupid.

9. He favors amnesty for illegals. I've always thought they should amend the law so that you are not a citizen if you are born in this country but your parents are here illegally, and make it easier to get work visas. Then continue deporting and more importantly protecting the borders. With the ability to deport whole families instead of just parents, and the fact that many illegal aliens come here to give birth so their children can live in this country, that would cut down on the number of illegals. Amnesty just says "Yeah... I know we said you can't come, but we'll let it slide this time. But in the future, YOU CAN'T COME." Any kid knows that when a parent talks like that you can get away with it any time you want.

In fairness, he does at least want to allow stem cell research (unlike Romney), though he would regulate it, and favors merit-pay for teachers (a strategy I like as long as they get MORE pay for doing well, not LESS pay for doing poorly). He also would leave the gay marriage question up to the states. He opposes drilling in Alaska and ethanol subsidies, which is good, and wants to reduce the deficit. But none of that can make me ignore the fact that he wants to attack science education AND sex education and make it illegal to even take a morning-after pill. He's religious right. No thanks.

Israel and Palestine

I've noticed something, in reading online forums and in talking to people. Very few issues are as hotly debated as that of Israel and Palestine. Threads on this topic are more vehemently debated than gay marriage. I think this is because in any given group, people tend to be either staunchly conservative, staunchly liberal, or moderate and not particularly opinionated on subjects like homosexuality, feminism, racism etc. But 90% of the people who know more about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict than the name have an opinion on it, and your normal political alliances don't really apply-- it's not like conservatives are pro-Israel and liberals are pro-Palestine or vice-versa. If it's at all important to them, it's REALLY REALLY so.

Of course, the time to really worry is if they're truly, deeply passionate about it, because then they will be furious if you disagree. I've discovered a system for knowing when not to talk about the conflict:

-If you believe that Palestine is right, or that Palestine might have some decent points of grievance, don't talk to someone who is Jewish, of Jewish ancestry, or has ever expressed any anti-Muslim opinions.

-If you believe that Israel is right, or that Israel might have some decent points, don't talk to anyone who is Muslim, anti-Semitic, or a conspiracy theorist because WHY are 90% the conspiracy theorists anti-semitic too?? Must be because "the Jews control the banks and the media" and all that jazz.

This causes a problem for me, because since I am not part of a major religion and the one I was loosely raised as is secular Protestant, I actually have a much more impartial view than most people I talk to. I think both have grievances, because I believe that the UN had no right to make Israel a country all those years ago and encourage Jews to move there, so the Palestinians have a legitimate complaint, especially since many laws are biased against them. At the same time, that doesn't give them the right to terrorize the Jewish people any more than living there gives the Jews the right to "fight back." The Israelis have a legitimate complaint in that all their neighbors are ready to kill them, they're much more progressive and can better handle the land than most of the Palestinians, and they've been there for so long it's not fair to kick them out.

Besides, everything in the Middle East is tied up with religion. You can't kick anyone out. And they can't live together, clearly. At this point the two groups have pretty much equal claims to the land, whatever they may want to do with it-- and although I know Palestine would enact Sharia law, I still say that it was their land to begin with and they have equal claim to it.

If I were Empress of the World... I'd wall off all the major holy sites. Jerusalem especially. Completely wall it off. Then impose martial UN law over the land, saying it no longer belongs to any nation. Ban Jews or Muslims or anyone who is known to have a strong side in the issue from that military service. Set up a number of gates, all strongly policed, sort of like the Vatican-- make sure that if you want to get in you haven't a single weapon on you and no history of terrorism. Inside the walls, put soldiers everywhere, with non-lethal weapons.

Then, split the rest of the land.

Make sure there is a clear, protected road from whichever country doesn't contain Jerusalem to the city; then force a mass exodus. Tell people which area is which. Allow the governments to (non-lethally) evict their enemies from their land. Make sure the land is divided by population and if you can, make sure they get comparable shares of the most fertile land. Will people be happy? No. Which is why you police the border like crazy and impose a major UN presence in the area for at least two generations.

Of course, this would hardly solve the problem but it would certainly hold of the inevitable. I would also pump aid money into this new Palestine with certain stipulations-- namely, that it has to go towards building schools and educating the populace (or as I would put it, "making sure you are at the same level or higher than your enemies so you can protect yourselves"), that it can't be used to manufacture weapons or it will ALL go away, and that all women must be educated under an improved curriculum until the age of 18, regardless of if they are married before then. Forcing them to educate their women or forfeit large quantities of aid would lead to a generally more educated populace, women marrying later (a man doesn't want a wife who has to go to school every day and can't watch his children), giving birth later, and hopefully getting a bit of empowerment thrown in with it all.

So clearly I can't just be Empress of the World, I also have to be God, because that's pretty much the only way this would happen. My boyfriend's probably right, just pull out of the region in a military sense, give money to the Kurds, and force major civil war that will drastically decrease their numbers.

Bah. Being an optimist is hard in this world.