Tag: oppression

The HOAs of Israel

3:59 pm

What is a West Bank settlement? If you read the press, it is a place where Israeli Jews have moved in and stolen the land of Arabs in order to occupy their land unfairly. It is a place where Arabs are forbidden, where apartheid has been established against the indigenous population.

Not only are these statements false, they actually turn reality on its head.

In my two visits to Israel I have stayed or visited four different West Bank settlements, and in each place my first impression was that I was visiting a typical American gated community, a suburban community run by a home-owner-association (HOA). You enter by driving through a gate where an attendant waves at you as you go by. He doesn’t stop you, because he either knows you or he has profiled you and sees no reason to ask you any questions. Once inside the roads wind about, passing individual homes or apartments. At the center of the community is a recreation center, often with a pool and library, where events are held and people go for entertainment.

Alon Shvut
The gated community of Alon Shvut, south of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

» Read more

6 comments

Hitchhiking and supermarkets in the occupied territory

9:47 am

In my visit to Israel this past week, I spent almost all my time in the West Bank. In all, I have now either stayed in or visited a total of four West Bank settlements. In addition, while there I also did some sightseeing in Jerusalem and elsewhere. From this short experience I have gleaned some very fascinating facts, many of which are very surprising, though they shouldn’t be as they are facts that in many cases are fundamental to understanding the long-running and seemingly unsolvable Middle East conflict.

In the next few days I will post a series of short essays describing my experience and thoughts, with this essay being the first.

First and foremost, the assumption everyone makes about the West Bank and Israel is that it is a very dangerous place, especially for Jews. This assumption is entirely false. It is so false it is downright laughable.
» Read more

2 comments

Staying in the West Bank

3:06 pm

This is my second visit to Israel and the second time I have stayed in a residence in the West Bank. Both times the experience has been quite different than what anyone who reads the modern press would expect. It is nothing like what you think.

Also, I have been delving into the background of both settlements, from this visit as well as my last visit back in 2003. Not surprisingly, the facts have little to do with what the press generally reports. And even when they do report honestly, they simply do not provide the important information that would provide some proper context. I myself have been astonished today with some of what I learned, as it was completely unexpected. For example, do you know that many of the land records for here in the West Bank are still kept in Istanbul, Turkey?

As I mentioned previously, however, it is difficult to post here in Israel. Though the internet service is fine, my laptop is beginning to show its age and to function too slowly for this work. Also, I want to include pictures, and I won’t be able to add them easily probably until I get home.

So stay tuned. It will be worthwhile reading.

2 comments

An appeals court has unanimously decided that Barack Obama violated the Constitution when he tried to make appointments to the NLRB when the Senate was not in recess.

10:29 am

The law is such an inconvenient thing: An appeals court has unanimously decided that Barack Obama violated the Constitution when he tried to make appointments to the NLRB when the Senate was not in recess.

The Constitution is very clear on this issue (see article I, section 5). It is up to the Senate to decide when it is in recess, not the President. Obama’s attempt to ignore the clear words of the Constitution here is an ugly example of his willingness to place himself above the law, something no American citizen of either party should take lightly.

5 comments

The entire NRA has converted to Islam to stymie the Obama administration’s effort to take their guns.

9:28 am

News flash! The entire NRA has converted to Islam to stymie the Obama administration’s effort to take their guns!

“This administration loves providing guns —big guns, and thousands of them— to Muslim fighters in Libya, Egypt, now Syria,” said [NRA CEO Wayne] LaPierre, bedecked in Wahhabi-style Muslim garb, at a press conference Wednesday. “Many of these rebel groups consist of radical jihadists who hate America just as much as the governments we’re helping them topple. If Obama is so pro-gun when it comes to radical Muslims, then damn it, we at the NRA are now radical Muslims, too!”

The response from the White House press secretary was not surprising.

“Admittedly, we’re perplexed at the (NRA’s) announcement of its conversion to Islam,” said a stunned-looking Carney. “And if more legal gun owners follow the NRA’s lead and convert to Islam, it will make it even harder for the administration to push for tighter gun laws, since we all know it’s middle-aged, rural, Christian white men with families who legally own guns who are the greatest threat in America today. Now we’ve lost much of that dangerous demographic to target. It’s a strategically cowardly move.”

2 comments

A Colorado county government, joining twelve other state governments and numerous local sheriffs, has passed a resolution supporting the second amendment and pledging not to enforce any federal laws that violate it.

9:00 am

A Colorado county government, joining twelve other state governments and numerous local sheriffs, has become the first county to pass a resolution supporting the second amendment and pledging not to enforce any federal laws that violate it.

This specific resolution is not as interesting as the growing list of defiance, described in the article, to the gun control effort of the Democratic Party.

Leave a comment

Another sheriff, this time in Missouri, has told the Obama administration that he will not enforce any regulations that violate the second amendment.

12:02 pm

A dozen sheriffs, all in Missouri, have told the Obama administration that they will not enforce any regulations that violate the second amendment.

I like this quote from the letter of one sheriff:

It appears to me and many Americans that there is a genuine desire on the part of your administration to restrict the Second Amendment rights of law abiding American citizens in the interest of curbing gun violence in our nation. Any attempt to restrict these Second Amendment rights through executive order is unconstitutional and tantamount to an all-out assault on the United States Constitution.

7 comments

Electronic medical records — required by Obamacare — are costing doctors time while taking them away from their patients.

3:40 pm

Finding out what’s in it: Electronic medical records — required by Obamacare — are costing doctors time while taking them away from their patients.

Probably the biggest problem with electronic records is simply that it requires the physician to input all notes and orders, rather than dictate them. As a result, as my bride puts it, “they’ve taken the highest paid person in the department and turned him/her into a data entry clerk”. On average, she and her colleagues spend more time per patient wading through drop-down menus, clicking boxes and filling in required but utterly irrelevant information than they do at the bedside, actually treating the patient. In short, it’s her experience that they see fewer patients per shift than they did previously, and spend less time with each one, now that they are required to sit down at a computer after seeing each patient and jumping through hoops to place orders instead of, as previously, simply telling the nurse what is needed and then moving on to the next patient. [emphasis mine]

Have you noticed in your recent visits to the doctor how the doctor seems to be spending his entire visit with you staring at his laptop, typing continuously as you talked? I have. Say goodbye to simplicity in the medical field. The future shall be complex bureaucracy and less medical treatment.

7 comments

In rushing through a new gun law in New York making illegal high capacity magazines, the legislature failed to exempt the police.

9:38 am

Idiots: In rushing through a new gun law in New York making illegal high capacity magazines, the legislature failed to exempt the police.

On Tuesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the sweeping gun measure, the nation’s toughest. It includes a ban on the possession of high-capacity magazines. Specifically, magazines with more than 7 rounds will be illegal under the new law. The problem as the statute is currently written does NOT exempt law enforcement officers. The NYPD, the State Police and virtually every law enforcement agency in the state carry 9-milli-meter guns, which have a 15-round capacity. Unless an exemption is added by the time the law takes effect in March, police would technically be in violation of the new gun measure.

If only more lawmakers had the brains of State Senator Greg Ball of New York, who voted against the law. His very cogent comments during the legislative session are embedded below. It is short, and worth watching.
» Read more

6 comments

The TSA is going to remove all of the airport backscatter body scanners made by one company.

9:28 am

Is this true? According to this report, the TSA is going to remove all of the airport backscatter body scanners made by one company.

One, I wonder at the reliability of this story, having seen it no where else. Two, I wonder if this involves the removal of all of the naked scanners, or just one company’s. It appears from the report that the TSA will be replacing some of these units, but it is unclear if they will be naked scanners.

Three, if true, this is good news. I sadly remain skeptical.

Update: Confirmation from the Associated Press.

2 comments
1 … 205 206 207 208 209 … 253