tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52694472011-07-08T03:48:38.331-07:00thoughts on the nature of military occupation and whether it is ever really a liberationchrisnoreply@blogger.comBlogger411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-8290770853484005922010-06-05T05:55:00.000-07:002010-06-05T05:57:34.899-07:00

Matt Friedman, writing for the AP, has the most detailed description of the assault on the Free Gaza flotilla boat Mavi Marmara that I’ve seen so far. Some interesting points: Israeli commandos boarded the boat from a low flying Black Hawk helicopter firing paintball guns. What? That’s right. They claim to have been using paintball guns with single side arms for backup. The other boats in

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-86331029659527315562008-10-08T08:42:00.000-07:002008-10-08T10:11:16.654-07:00

Yesterday the US Army held a press conference  regarding its new field manual, The Stability Operations Field Manual, which essentially amplifies the new philosophy of military occupation as successful nation building. It's not simply the Army's job to forcefully enter a country and beat the bad guys, it is its job to create a new country in the shell of the old and see that it becomes a

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-46282466618641496112008-03-09T18:06:00.001-07:002008-03-09T18:12:39.806-07:00

Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Greater Jerusalem have long enabled a stranglehold on the Palestinian economy. Here's the way it works: build an illegal settlement, get the military to protect it, use coercive means to "control" the Arab population. This is no secret. It continues the long held narrative that only One people deserve the land. So long as this type of Military Occupation

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-60094142569528491512008-01-10T11:57:00.000-08:002008-01-10T12:08:55.617-08:00

The BBC has an article posted that is titled "Bush Urges Israeli occupation end." But then, just when we muster enough hope to read, the opening sentence reads,"US President George W Bush has said Israel must end its occupation of some Arab land to enable the creation of a viable Palestinian state."Talk about a headline that doesn't really mean what it says!But on a lighter note, had I been in

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-17956450988342391842008-01-08T08:59:00.000-08:002008-01-08T09:03:17.322-08:00

You may think your commute time to work in the morning is a headache, but check out this article comparing what Israelis and Palestinians have to go through on their perspective commutes.

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1128668594686143452007-12-31T12:59:00.001-08:002007-12-31T13:41:39.931-08:00

Today I've been looking at the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, contemplating that word "rights" which it employs throughout, and marveling at the fact that my country (the USA) can use it so freely and yet continue to employ military occupation as a means to a "democratic" end. Let me begin with this word "rights." I really don't like the word. It's so cold. It suggests entitlement. It

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1022303755477341542007-12-26T11:56:00.000-08:002007-12-26T12:03:13.365-08:00

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-11511935183037477392007-05-10T12:21:00.000-07:002007-05-10T13:00:12.986-07:00

I can walk down the street here in Chicago and never see an armed soldier standing patrol. Every night on the news I see them though. Standing guard on the other side of the planet. Far enough away that I can choose not to think about it. But sometimes, like when a tornado destroys a town in Kansas, I hear that here at home the states suffer from a lack of vehicles in the event of crisis. Why?

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-72574886052850863652007-05-10T12:17:00.000-07:002007-05-10T12:46:15.579-07:00

The Palestinian Christian is an endangered species.When the modern state of Israel was established there were about 400,000 of us. Two years ago the number was down to 80,000. Now it’s down to 60,000. At that rate, in a few years there will be none of us left. When this happens non-Christian groups will move into our churches and claim them forever.Palestinian Christians within Israel fare little

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-61791790216115015452007-04-24T07:43:00.000-07:002007-04-24T07:45:01.754-07:00

Disruptive Grace has a dead-on reflection regarding America’s need to build walls.

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-74063446750224903322007-03-20T07:15:00.000-07:002007-03-20T07:17:18.289-07:00

I hadn't seen this before but it's worth checking out. Great links. Good discussion starter.

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-36535700009506183832007-03-20T07:10:00.000-07:002007-03-20T07:11:51.489-07:00

Since when did Prayer come to equal Solidarity? Granted there are all kinds ways to pray, but for Christians there is a clear directive to pray for God’s Will, and to claim that any particular nation’s will is the same as God’s is blasphemous according to the Bible, is it not? This first occured to me as I drove past a synagogue here in Chicago and saw two large signs on the front lawn that

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-53707449913985364212007-03-06T08:04:00.000-08:002007-03-06T08:10:11.401-08:00

Well I can't say I'm too surprised, but I am disappointed. Ali Abuminah reports on Barack Obama's about face on Middle East politics in his article How Barack Obama learned to love Israel. If disappointing, given his historically close relations to Palestinian-Americans, Obama's about-face is not surprising. He is merely doing what he thinks is necessary to get elected and he will continue doing

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-24381695604209622652007-01-26T08:21:00.000-08:002007-01-26T08:23:56.419-08:00

Steve Inskeep did his follow up interview with Ken Stein this morning. Comparing the two interviews, I have to say that the final one was a let-down, but a good one. Inskeep put Carter on the defensive and let him battle his way back. But in interviewing Stein, Inskeep just lets him talk--and Stein's accusations don't seem to hold enough weight to make it interesting.Inskeep: A layman might ask:

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-10970109729330326742007-01-25T13:09:00.000-08:002007-01-26T07:55:23.590-08:00

**crossposted on A Desperate Kind of FaithfulI'm convinced that when you become President of the United States something happens to you as a human being. I don't see how it can't. You'd have to represent the most powerful nation in all the world. More than that you have to lead what it has become. Bear in mind that in modern Statecraft a nation is the sum of it's interests. While we're led to

chrisnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1742462784066476862007-01-17T09:14:00.000-08:002007-01-17T09:33:47.113-08:00

http://www.forward.com/articles/the-case-for-carter/Tags: Military Occupation, Israel, Palestine, Jimmy Carter, Yossi Beilin

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-78997117533438571532007-01-03T19:59:00.000-08:002007-01-03T20:01:10.569-08:00

"As many as 654,965 more Iraqis may have died since hostilities began in Iraq in March 2003 than would have been expected under pre-war conditions, according to a survey conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Al Mustansiriya University in Baghdad." Tags: Iraqi civillians, casualties, collateral damage

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-5746083405219007652006-10-24T09:17:00.000-07:002006-10-24T09:21:20.711-07:00

Martin Buber's work for a homeland for both Jews and Arabs is fascinating.He began Brit Shalom in 1925. I just added a link to the organization under Good Resources.Tags: Martin Buber, Brit Shalom, Jews, Arabs, coexistence

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-57859293802678312432006-10-15T11:57:00.000-07:002006-10-15T12:00:47.862-07:00

I posted a new excerpt from the Elias Rishmawi interview of 2003 onto Google Video. (14:20) Tags: Beit Sahour, Elias Rishmawi, Google Video, Military Occupation, taxation, Intifada, 1988

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-87273611108378178402006-10-05T11:54:00.000-07:002006-10-05T11:55:18.830-07:00

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1158073433701043582006-09-12T08:03:00.000-07:002006-09-12T08:03:53.763-07:00

.25 miles to the former blood alley to take my four year old girl to school. corner one: I am solicited for money for food. corner two: I catch sight of a newspaper headline that reads "US in a Struggle for Civilization" corner three: Broadway and Wilson. Nothing.corner four: a bike rider strangely warns us all of "the coming pigeon shit." He yells out "don't slip there."

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1153413132086122202006-07-20T09:15:00.000-07:002006-07-20T09:32:12.133-07:00

ISRAEL MUST STOP BOMBING LEBANON NOW!This is crazy! Bombing civilians is not an answer to kidnapping soldiers.Why won't the UN speak out on this? Why won't the American people speak out?Why instead are we talking about possible Hezbollah attacks on America?Not in My Name

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1149261826242736692006-06-02T08:23:00.000-07:002006-06-02T08:23:46.280-07:00

I heard some soldier say on the news yesterday "we are guests of the Iraqis and we will conduct ourselves in such a manner." I can't believe the audacity of this statement! As if the Iraqis invited the US to invade! As if the search and seizure of raids into their homes was by invitation! As if the detainment of hundreds of innocent civilians into prison camps was something "nice" we were doing

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1144856552645193282006-04-12T08:42:00.000-07:002006-04-12T08:42:33.593-07:00

This film on the military industrial complex looks really good! The site has lots of clips. I wish it were showing here in Chicago. Why We Fight: A film by Eugene Jarecki A must see once it's portable.

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1144079356734526022006-04-03T08:33:00.000-07:002006-04-03T08:49:16.746-07:00

US and British foreign reps tell the Iraqi government to Get a Move On!In essence they're saying "This democracy thing is easy! What's taking so long? And just to prove it we'll actually spend the night in your God-forsaken country instead of fleeing within a few hours."Condi Rice said, "I told them that a lot of treasure, a lot of human treasure, has been put on the line to give Iraq the chance

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1133452868567195512005-12-01T08:01:00.000-08:002005-12-01T08:01:08.636-08:00

Ok, now here's an odd twist that reflects the nuance of Occupation. Iraqi kidnappers nabbed CPTers and ISMers who are working in behalf of Palestinians in the West Bank. In a Press Release Islam and National Forces there speak up on their behalf and witness to their work against Occupation. Now obviously CPT and ISM are against terrorism. Still it is puzzling who is good and bad here. Hamas and

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1133364868529243912005-11-30T07:32:00.000-08:002005-11-30T07:35:00.283-08:00

I just recieved this message from a friend:The Israeli Army has set up a checkpoint to prevent Palestinian children from getting to their school in al-Khalil/Hebron because of an illegal Jewish settlement in the area. The children have decided not to sit back and let this happen with no protest. These kids are brave!I had a little trouble waking my kids up and getting them dressed and off to

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1133364566039486312005-11-30T07:20:00.005-08:002005-11-30T07:30:28.946-08:00

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1132779413278062022005-11-23T12:51:00.000-08:002005-11-23T12:56:53.286-08:00

NPR has a time line of what led up to the war. My question is: does the Bush administration think we're stupid or just not paying attention? VP Dick Cheney, are you mad that human beings have memories? Maybe you should have been investing time and energy into some mass mind wipe device. We knew you were selling us a line when you sold it. Dems, instead of whining in criticism push forward a

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1129379842090711772005-10-15T05:22:00.000-07:002005-10-15T05:37:22.096-07:00

I heard an interview on "Worldview" with Anne Nivat yesterday. She is author of The Wake of War : Encounters in Iraq and Afghanistan. Listen to the hour long program here. Here's a description of her book from Amazon:In the spring of 2003, acclaimed journalist Anne Nivat set off from Tajikistan on a six-month journey through the aftermath of the American invasion and occupation of Afghanistan

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1122132576436506962005-07-23T08:26:00.000-07:002005-07-23T08:29:36.436-07:00

The ad here is for Sapolio soap. I got it from Akma Adam.

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1122132038027391512005-07-23T08:11:00.000-07:002005-07-23T08:26:29.946-07:00

This is not the first time suicide bombers have worked on the established Islamic world. America should take note that these actions are not only for us but also any authority percieved as a threat to their cause. At this point who is not a threat to the sucide bomb cause?Attacking hapless Iraqis, Saudis, and Egyptians creates fear to be sure, but not change for their cause. If anything now they

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1108477418465066662005-02-15T06:22:00.000-08:002005-02-15T06:23:38.466-08:00

Syria/Lebanon="Occupation"USA/Iraq="Liberation + Peacekeeping"

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1107225081305564362005-01-31T18:29:00.000-08:002005-01-31T18:31:21.306-08:00

Church Folks for a Better America Nice website from Princeton's George Hunsiger (America's own premier Karl Barth scholar) http://www.cfba.info/index.html

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1107224339820469582005-01-31T18:14:00.000-08:002005-01-31T18:18:59.820-08:00

I'm elated for the Iraqi people that they got to vote. I hope it turns out well. But it doesn't change the fact that they're living under Occupation. Are we beginning to think of Iraq as a suburb of America? Is it really that we're so altruistic that we just got to share our freedom with this poor oppressed country? Can terrorism force us into an altruism as Bush suggested in his Inaugural speech

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1102006105953782622004-12-02T08:48:00.000-08:002004-12-02T16:57:15.080-08:00

I've been searching around for some good educational links on Occupation both in Iraq and Palestine. Here you go. Monitoring IHL in Iraq International Law: Military occupation of Iraq: IHL and and the maintenance of law and order Occupation Watch The Rational Enquirer Churches for Middle East Peace Militant Secularists FromOccupiedPalestine.org and this one which is an excellent source of

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1100193573887920402004-11-11T09:12:00.000-08:002004-11-11T09:19:33.886-08:00

So what does the US learn from the death of Arafat? Nothing at all. We reelect GWB. My Evangelical "brothers and sisters" are happy to see "that devil Arafat" go. Now they just hope the Palestinians forget about any hope of statehood and head "back" to Jordan where they belong. Where can a guy with a conscience go? If salvation means freedom from conscience and prophecy is all about what happens

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1100193142504462632004-11-11T09:02:00.000-08:002004-11-11T09:12:22.503-08:00

yeh I know its been over a year now. i get busy... anyway... on the death of Arafat--have we learned anything? The news media focuses on the fact that he's dead and that he now has successors. What's missing from the picture? He's being buried in a bombed out compound in a sealed off land, occupied by another State. His work for recognition has brought light to the plight of a people now

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-1066316379142094102003-10-16T07:59:00.000-07:002003-10-16T07:59:39.326-07:00

What gives us the right to be Occupiers? If we're so interested in making the world a safer place why haven't we been more active in foreign policy and in the UN? And why are our interests so self-centred to this day?

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-924839202003-04-12T07:04:00.000-07:002003-04-12T07:04:15.390-07:00

So is Saddam dead? That's what I heard yesterday. And the news is mostly good--saying that the US and Britain are liberators. I heard Bush and Blair this morning, some of their taped excerpts that are playing now in Iraq on formerly Iraqi State airwaves. They were talking about how they were friends and how they had liberated the Iraqis from a brutal dictatorship. They were talking as though they

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269447.post-923894732003-04-10T15:52:00.000-07:002003-04-10T15:53:42.000-07:00

Well its the day after the big celebration in downtown iraq. Things aren't lookin as hot. gotta do the dishes. be back later

chrisnoreply@blogger.com0