Tuesday, December 19, 2006

The Arab-Israeli Conflict

I am determined to learn as much about the Arab-Israeli Conflict as possible, and from both sides of the spectrum. As of now, my current feelings are that Israel has taken a harsh and abrasive stance against Palestinians and Lebanese -- generally, all Arabs -- since after WWII.

The Jewish people have been persecuted and have persecuted other ethnic groups throughout their history. Not including the present conflict, the most recent trauma suffered by the Jews was WWII itself, where millions of its people were exterminated at the hands of German radicals. Did this onslaught result in the creation of Jewish radicals, a title of which has been averted, instead being called "Zionists"?

Who is entitled to the land once called Palestine? The Zionists say that they are entitled, as God has promised it to them. I have no respect for any people who say they know what God says, or what God wants. Therefore, their argument of divine entitlement holds no water as far as I'm concerned.

The Arabs also say much about God. The difference in their case, as far as I see it, is that their homes were in Palestine. But perhaps they have been seen by much of the West -- namely white Christians -- as less "civilized", less organized, less united, therefore less entitled.

I think history will shed much more light on the issue than can be determined now. However, I believe it is necessary, for the sake of humanity, to ask questions regarding the validity and fairness of this conflict. My goal is to determine first what questions are necessary to ask.

My first resource is a book by Debra A. Miller, appropriately called The Arab-Israeli Conflict. Your comments on the issue are welcome and encouraged.

Friday, December 08, 2006

A week of struggle

Workplace Mishap
I fucked up at work this week. I won't go into details, but I'm feeling regretful. My supervisor's supervisor says that he "will be expecting a Corrective Action Report on this incident." Fantastic, I'll be looking forward to that.

I need a day off in a bad way. It's recently come to my recollection that, despite having two weeks available, I have taken absolutely no vacation time this year. Am I stupid, you ask? No. It was a combination of not having the money to go anywhere for vacation, being back and forth between Chicago and Houston for the past two months, and a year that has flown by without me noticing.

Hellth Insurance
I'm having to go through hell to get a healthcare insurance policy for my family and myself. It's a big pain in the ass. The group insurance policy offered through my company would put me out just under $1000 a month. No thank you. I have plenty of other expenses to worry about.

If I could I would move us to another country that offers universal health coverage. Sure, they take it right out of your payroll through taxes, but it would be worth avoiding the painstaking hassle of sorting through which insurance companies want to fuck their policy holders over the least.