The situation just keeps getting worse...

Now Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of using white phosphorus, which impartially burns everyone in its' path and is generally considered inhumane. Beyond white phosphorus, Israel has become so out of control that they are unaware whether or not they are responsible for bombing a U.N. relief agency compound. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev claims "if it was Israel's fire, it was a grave mistake," and says "it could have been ours, it could have been Hamas', this is being investigated."

If any further proof was needed that Israel has become out of control and is simply attacking anyone and anything in the general area of Gaza, this is it.

Hamas continues to fire rockets, Israel continues to react in the worst way possible.

20 more rockets have been fired into Israel today from Gaza assumedly by Hamas. Israel continued indiscriminately bombing, shelling and shooting at whatever the fuck they please, burning several and killing one person in a U.N. school. It doesn't seem like this conflict will end anytime soon, especially with Israeli forces having no stated goal other than to stop rocket attacks which is becoming an obvious lost cause.

What will it take for blind support of Israel to stop?

How bad do the stories from the conflict between Israel and Palestine have to get before other countries and the U.N. step up and put a stop to what amounts to Israel's acts of terrorism? The latest story hasn't been substantiated as 100% fact yet but according to many eyewitnesses Israel ordered Palestinian civilians, (that's ordinary people who work and have families), to take shelter in a house which they then bombed, killing thirty of the people inside (from CNN). Perhaps the story isn't entirely accurate, but then there are also the incidents with the U.N. humanitarian workers. The IDF just doesn't care who they shoot anymore. Men, women, children, the ones who aren't killed are left injured or with nothing. The U.N. tried to instigate a truce, but that only lasted about 15 minutes. I would expect the small groups of terrorists to break a truce after 15 minutes, but I would hope that Israel might be able to last a bit longer. That's Wishful thinking I guess.

Even if I were to set these stories aside, what Israel is doing is wrong. Their over-aggressive attitude where they paint a target on every living person in Gaza is disgusting. The U.S. has to stop waiting and hoping something comes out of the meetings in Cairo. Hundreds of non-combatants are dying while the leaders talk. Israel claims that their offensive is intended to stop rocket fire into Israel, but after killing over eight hundred Palestinians, their actions haven't put a damper on rocket attacks. The only thing Israel's offensive is doing is leaving Gaza full of thousands of parentless and homeless children who now hate Israel for killing their parents and destroying all they hold dear. For every terrorist or enemy combatant that Israel kills, they are creating five or ten more.

Blind support of Israel needs to end and it needs to end now.

The Christmas Spirit!

According to this story, (via cnn.com), a group of Athiests, in Olympia, Washington erected a sign alongside a Nativity scene that was later removed and thrown in a ditch. Here is a photo of the sign:













I have no problem with any group of people putting up signs, nativity scenes, menorahs or anything expressing their beliefs. This sign would not bother me... if it weren't for the last line. Simply stating the belief that there are no gods, devils, angels, heaven or hell is not offensive or antagonistic. It may directly conflict with the views of the people who assembled the Nativity scene, but it does not attack those views. The last line, however, directly and intentionally attacks those views and that is nasty, unreasonable and unnecessary. A quote from the article taken from Dan Barker, a co-founder of the group is as follows "If there can be a Nativity scene saying that we are all going to hell if we don't bow down to Jesus, we should be at the table to share our views." I would love to see this particular Nativity scene, but I have yet to encounter one with a sign stating explicitly that non-believers will go to hell.

A matter of wording?
Another advertisement, this one on buses in Washington D.C., states "Why believe in a God?" the advertisement asks. "Just be good for goodness sake."














I can and do stand behind the idea that a person should not be good simply because their religion demands it, but rather because it is just the right thing to do. In fact, it is one of my core beliefs that being a good person is inherently rewarding. Still, the line "why believe in a god" is intentionally inflammatory and to pretend otherwise is farcical. If this sign were to truly be as fair as it pretends to be it should say something more along the lines of:
God or not,
Be good for goodness' sake.


In the end, there is nothing wrong with believing in a god and there is nothing wrong with believing there is no god. A self-righteous militant Athiest is just as much of a poison on humanity as a self-righteous fundamentalist Christian. Everyone should be working on living together peacefully regardless of beliefs rather than attacking each other.

*Note- don't let the actions of a few people in this story reflect on all Atheists, Christians or humans in general.

You're an idiot, natch

If there's one thing I hate it's the bastardization of language, (imagine the sort of love/hate relationship I have with the internet). One term that raises the short hairs on my neck every time I hear it is 'natch.' Natch isn't even an intuitive shortening of 'naturally,' visually it doesn't resemble the word naturally and aurally it is simply grating.

Please, don't use crappy slang like 'natch.' This goes double if you're a professional journalist.

Michael Chrichton died yesterday

I hope people take notice and remember him for the amazing writer and director and all around brilliant man that he was.

source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/11/05/obit.crichton/index.html

Epic fail, Joaquin Phoenix

Not only are the words on the wrong hands, but why would a successful actor stoop to writing childish messages on his hands anyway? The guy's 34 years old now, he's not in middle school anymore. Maybe it's in pen so it will come off easily when three or four years down the road he decides that he really does like money and starts starring in movies again.