Friday, February 16, 2007

OBAMA KISSING UP TO THE LOBBY

See editor's note following this article.
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EYE ON THE MEDIA~~ KISSING UP TO THE LOBBY

By DesertPeace
Jereusalem

(Ben Heine © Cartoons)
I was hoping that when Barack Obama threw his hat in the ring for the Democratic nomination he would give Hillary a 'run for the money'. Instead, he is 'kissing up' to the Lobby with statements about Israel.

Instead of proposing recognition of the new Palestinian Unity Government, he is already hinting that they are the enemy of Israel. Instead of offering a new platform for peace he seems to be willing to keep things just as they are.... seeking out enemies and finding ways to protect Israel from them.

All he has to do is look carefully at the present US Administration, the enemy is right there. They are the ones that have prevented a real peace process from ever developing in the Middle East, they are the ones that have supplied Israel with arms to be used against the civilian population of Palestine.

Yes, Israel must be protected against its enemies, starting with the United States.
The following report is from this morning's HaAretz.....

Obama: U.S. must help Israel defend itself By Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz Correspondent

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, a Democrat from Illinois who is competing for his party's presidential nomination, told Haaretz on Thursday that the United States should help protect Israel from its "dangerous" enemies.

"My view is that the United States' special relationship with Israel obligates us to be helpful to them in the search for credible partners with whom they can make peace, while also supporting Israel in defending itself against enemies sworn to its destruction," he said.

"Israelis want more than anything to live in peace with their neighbors, but Israel also has real - and very dangerous - enemies," Obama said.

Obama, the first black candidate with a real chance at the Democratic nomination, intends to present his policy regarding Israel soon, and his staff has been drafting a speech on the subject.

In his speech, Obama intends to remove any doubts that the Democratic Party's donors and constituents, many of whom are Jewish, may have about his support for Israel.

This report reminded me of the following story I heard long ago...

The Little Bird, The Cow and The Cat


Little bird was enjoying a flight in the the last rays of warmth for the day before settling down into his cozy nest for the night. As he dove and swooped across the sky, he noticed a flock of birds flying as though the devil himself was at their tail feathers.

“HEY!” he called. “Where are you going?”

“We’re flying south,” they called over their wings. “Winter’s coming and we have to be in South America before it hits!”

Little bird was puzzled. This was his first winter and he hadn’t heard of such things. “Why would you do that?” he asked.

“It’s going to get colder yet!” they called. “There’ll be no food! Now hurry or you won’t make it!”

Little bird waved them good-bye and considered what they’d said. He’d felt cold before in the dark of night and it wasn’t really that bad. He always just nestled further into his nest and fluffed his feathers around him and was fine. No food? With all of the other birds gone, there’d be plenty of food for him! Flying long distances was hard work and he’d fare much better staying behind! His mind was made up.

He was right, for a while. Little bird was living high on the land with the other birds down south. There was plenty to eat in the dying fields and the bugs were slow from the cold. He lay back in his nest, fat and happy, laughing at the silly birds who had gone south.

The next morning, he wasn’t laughing. He awoke to freezing rain pelting down on his nest, rudely awakening him from his restless sleep. It was c*o*l*d. He shuddered and pulled his feathers closely around him, but he still could not shake off the chill that permeated his little bones. Shit. He had to get south and get there fast. He took flight, trying without success to fly above the rain clouds. The higher he got, the colder it got. He felt ice forming on his wings and he panicked as he began a downward spiral. He hit the ground hard.

It was Little Bird’s darkest hour. Or so he thought. As he lay there on the frozen ground, the icy rain pelting onto him, he stared up at the gray skies and asked for help, from somewhere, anywhere. Unbeknownst to him, Little Bird had landed smack in the middle of a cow pasture. Old Bossy Cow was feeling quite an urge and she was making her way through the sleet and rain and let go with a pie of epic proportions, which landed, ripe and steaming, right onto Little Bird.

“Fine,” he thought. “Just fine. As if injury was not enough, now he had a hot pile of insult all over him. As Little Bird lay, defeated, in the pile of cow shit, he found, to his surprise, that the heat from the cow plop was thawing out his wings. (?!) His tiny bones and muscles soaked up the warmth and soon he was feeling just fine again. It was a miracle…the very one he’d asked the heavens to send. He was so overjoyed, that he began to sing, “Oh Happy Day! Oh Happy Day!”

In the barn, not far away, Old Tabby Cat was curled up in a pile of hay, dreaming of spring when the birds would return and he would have warm food instead of cold, hard Friskies. Suddenly, his ears perked and his head shot up. “What? Could it be??” Curious, he padded out of the barn and cocked his head. “HA!” Evidently, some bird had NOT flow south. What could it have been thinking? He rushed out into the rain to investigate. He came upon Little Bird, singing for all he was worth from the middle of a pile of cow shit. Old Tabby Cat did not let his puzzlement keep him from swinging into action.

“Pssst,” he said, “Little Bird, what are you doing in that pile of cow shit?”

Little Bird laughed. “I was DYING here in the icy rain and that cow over there saved me! It was amazing!”

“Wow. That is absolutely fascinating,” OTC purred. But I can’t help but notice that you are covered in cow shit now. Can I lend a hand? Let me pull you out and help you get cleaned up. Then you can really enjoy your new lease on life!”

Little Bird was jubilant. Not only had he been saved from the jaws of death in a most unexpected way, but he’d been helped again by a most unlikely source. He reached out his wing and OTC hoisted him onto his back, grimacing at the still warm cow plop droppings that were sinking into his fur. Little Bird rode the cat back to the barn, where he was taken to the horse stables. The bodies of many of the large animals had made this part of the barn the warmest and Little Bird happily dove into a puddle of water and began washing his wings. After he was perfectly clean, OTC helped him settle down into the warm hay until he was perfectly dry. Little Bird settled into a comfy sleep, whereupon, Old Tabby Cat promptly ate him.

The Moral of the Story:

*Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.

*Not everyone who helps you is your friend.

posted by DesertPeace @ 11:39 AM 0 comments links to this post
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Autobio:

Active Peace/Civil Rights Worker.. Aiming to establish a just and lasting peace between Israel and Palestine, while at the same time continue the struggle against racism and for peace throughout the world. Email me at.. manopeace@gmail.com
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CCNWON editor's note: I enjoy and appreciate this writer.

I would like to correct one thing though. On his website he identifies his home town as Jerusalem, Israel.

According to a UN resolution, Jerusalem is a World City, not in fact Israel's property. Even the heavily pro-Israel Canadian government which has it's own Israel Lobby, will not put Jerusalem, Israel on passports as immigrants' place of birth., only Jerusalem, period.

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