Long awaited Update
Alright, so I've put this off along enough. I apologize, as I have made many empty promises and not fulfilled them. Friends, I am sorry, for this I should be flogged with wet noodles and smacked with wet kittens. Fetishes aside, it is time I inform you all of what is happening in my life. Prepare to be bored, fall asleep, wake up hear droning from my journal, fall asleep again, enter the 7th circle of hell and wake up refreshed and still clueless as to what is going on in my life. Sounds like a plan? Alright here we go then.
Alright so I have no job, why? Because I for once, stood up for what I though was a moral quandary and didn't feel my job paid me enough to deal with the BS anymore. Boy am I pining for my piddly check now. Funds are tight, Im getting cranky, and welp even if I do get financial aid all done I may not get my monies til school starts, which is the end of August. *le sigh* Oh well, such is life all I can do is keep churning out the resos and hope I find a restauranty job in the interim. Wish me luck, because if 2 and a half years has shown me something, it's that my paper qualifications aren't enough. Although my practical qualifications blow a lotta people outta the water, especially some paper.
Or so I though initially. Now as I slog through finding a new job I realize, that to compete I will need overpriced pieces of paper. I don't want it nor do I really need it, but it will help. So they say. So Im finishing up everything to get back to school this fall, so maybe a non-technical job would be preferred. Another thing I have to consider is the fact that we only have one car right now. Hrm, it won't be so bad I think, as long as I can find a job along the bus lines and not work too late, I should be fine. As it stands now I can bus it to school. Which reminds me I need to get a new inner tube for my bike. Or even just take it in to be worked on. Blah, more money I don't have, I need to get on my schedule and try to find classes that are at the nearby campus and get all that registration stuff done asap on Friday so I can go do the child care assistance jig. Hopefully that will prove fruitful and allow us to catch up a bit in our payments.
Well onto the family. Things are stressful, but I am over all happier than I was while I working at my last job. I really like the fact that our house is staying moderately cleaner. I also like this down time to myself, I just wish I could find someone to pay me to do something during this time. My child has spent her token months in the 3 yr old class and will be moving up to the 4 yr old class in Aug. This is good and awesome, except she will be once again be moving out of the class in which she has made a bunch of new friends. They do bring the classes together for group activities, but I know that Riley is missing a few of her old classmates. They don't seem to have as long a memory as does my child of perdition..uhh...my child.
Why do I say that you ask? Well according to some journals I've perused, when you think to say anything against the policies of Israel, you are by default, a supporter of anti-Antisemitism. So let us go forth and learn of my beef.
Here is a break down of the conflict from the BBC, I will quote a lot of it as well:
Week One
Week Two
July 12: Hezbollah fighters do cross border raid from Southern Lebanon into Israel, in this raid they capture 2 Israeli soldiers
In response Israeli planes bomb Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon and troops cross into southern Lebanon for the first time since the military withdrawal of 2000. Israel calls up reserve troops as it pledges a swift and large-scale response to the Hezbollah attack.(I know what you're thinking Ohhhhh, but they started it, yes but it did not warrant a bombing of a country that has little to nothing to do with the people who perpetuated the raid. Not only that BOMBING, not just response or defense, we are talking retaliatory bombing here. That and a pledge of large scale response?)
July 13: After a night of Israeli air raids across southern Lebanon, Israeli jets strike the runways at Beirut's international airport in the morning, forcing the airport to close. Reports emerge of significant numbers of civilian casualties in Lebanese towns and villages close to Israeli targets, with at least 35 people reported killed. (Civilian casualties for 2 soldiers, 2 soldiers who were just being held for prisoner exchanges mind you. Civilians who have no overt ties to the Hezbollah group)
The US president defends Israel's right to defend itself from attack, but France, Russia and the EU are all critical of a "disproportionate" use of force.(What ever Bush, as you can see real leaders see that this might be an over the top response)
As night falls a rocket hits Israel's third-largest city, Haifa, although Hezbollah denies responsibility.(Im inclined to believe them, as most fanatical groups will leap at the chance to claim any sort of action like this)
July 14: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promises "open war" against Israel after his offices in Beirut are bombed.(Excellent you just kicked a sleeping dog Israel)
Bridges, roads and fuel depots are hit, with new strikes against Beirut airport. The number of Lebanese civilians killed in the strikes rises above 50(Again with the destruction of people and facilities with no real ties to the group responsible)
Iran's president warns that any Israeli attack on Syria, seen as a sponsor of Hezbollah, will provoke a "fierce response".(Israel continues despite possible expansion of hostilities)
July 15: Israel expands its strikes in Lebanon, attacking a large number of targets including, for the first time, the northern port city of Tripoli.
Eighteen Lebanese fleeing a village are killed when their vehicles are struck with missiles on the road to the southern city of Tyre.(Again more civilian losses)
Speaking ahead of the G8 meeting in St Petersburg , US President George W Bush blames Hezbollah for the crisis and urges Syria to put pressure on the militants.(Wow, you mean we actually blame those responsible?)
July 16: Israeli air-raids kill at least 23 people in southern Lebanon, including 16 in the city of Tyre. Seven Canadians of Lebanese origin are killed in a village about 33 miles (50 kilometers) south of Beirut while on a family holiday.
Hezbollah rockets kill eight Israelis in the coastal city of Haifa in the worst attack on Israel since the fighting started.(These are the first Israeli deaths attributed to the Hezbollah in this conflict)
Leaders of the G8 nations meeting in St Petersburg blame extremist forces for the crisis, but call on Israel to end military operations.
July 17: Israel extends its air strikes to the north, killing at least 15 people in and around Tripoli, Lebanon's second-largest city.
Other targets include the nearby port of Abdeh - where nine Lebanese soldiers die - the capital, Beirut, and the eastern city of Baalbek.
Ten people are reportedly killed driving across a bridge south of Beirut as Israeli missiles strike.(The country is slowly being turned into rubble)
In Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the attacks will go on until two captured Israeli soldiers are freed, Hezbollah is disarmed and the Lebanese army controls the south. (How can this be accomplished when Israel is busy laying waste to the region, I wouldn't send my military into a hot zone like that if all Im supposed to do is disarm a cell of extremists especially when the other country is just randomly destroying anything and everything)
Hezbollah continues to fire rockets into Israel. One hits a block of flats in Haifa, injuring at least four people. (See how well that worked?)
In a fresh barrage of rocket fire in the evening, one lands near a hospital in Safed, reportedly injuring six people.(Now both sides are feeling it)
UN chief Kofi Annan and UK PM Tony Blair suggest sending an international force in Lebanon to halt the Hezbollah attacks, but Israel says it is too soon to consider such a move.(Uhhhh too soon? This coming from the jerks who went off half cocked and are now destroying a country?)
Lebanon's President, Emile Lahoud, insists he will never betray Hezbollah and its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.(Nice, now the power play is expanding)
July 18: Israeli strikes continue for a seventh day, again hitting southern Beirut and also the southern coastal city of Tyre. Eleven Lebanese soldiers die under air attack in the east of Beirut, while six bodies are pulled from the rubble of a building in the town of Aitaroun.
Hezbollah rockets continue to target the Israeli port city of Haifa, although there are no reports of injuries. (Both still at it)
The number of Lebanese killed since the start of Israel's offensive reaches about 230, with 25 Israelis also killed.(Kind of uneven)
The UN warns of a humanitarian disaster as Lebanese flee their homes, with air strikes on roads and bridges hampering efforts to help them.(Again non-combatants forced to suffer because of an "outrage")
July 19: As Israeli forces bomb Lebanon for an eighth day, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora appeals for an immediate end to the Israeli attacks on his country, saying more than 300 people had been killed by the Israeli air raids so far, with 1,000 wounded and 500,000 displaced.
After meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, says he has seen the suffering of Lebanese civilians and it is nothing to do with the battle against Hezbollah - it was "disproportionate". (I would agree)
But Ms Livni says the Israeli military response is proportionate to the threat posed by Hezbollah to the entire region.(So they destroy an area and it's inhabitants because of a threat of a group that isn't even really tied to the region itself?)
July 20: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan calls for a ceasefire and stresses the need to let aid into the region. (How I love this man, I want him to be an Uncle to Ri)
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agrees to allow aid into Lebanon. (At least he's not totally insane)
Many Lebanese fear their country is being utterly devastated(I felt that the caption of the picture was apt to leave in here)
Heavy fighting erupts between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants inside Lebanon's border. Two Israeli soldiers and a number of Hezbollah fighters are killed, according to the Israeli army.
Israel continues its bombing of Lebanon, carrying out 80 air strikes.(This is in one day mind you)
The death toll reaches at least 306 people in Lebanon and 31 in Israel.
But Cyprus, which is taking many of the evacuees, says it cannot cope with the influx and appeals to the European Commission for additional planes to fly people to their home countries.(Other countries are now feeling the strain from this conflict
July 21: Israel masses soldiers and tanks on the Lebanese border, called up thousands of reserves, drops leaflets on parts of southern Lebanon urging residents to leave.(Why it's their country?)
It maintains its bombardment of the country, hitting more than 40 targets, mainly in southern Beirut.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora says the offensive is now no longer against Hezbollah, but against Lebanon.(The fact that the aggresion is not lessoning and that they seem to find more Lebanese targets would indeed suggest that)
July 22: The Israeli army continues ground incursions into southern Lebanon. It says it has gained control of the village of Maroun al-Ras after several days of fighting and warns civilians in 14 specific villages to leave. (Yet do not provide anyway for them to leave or any cease fire for them to escape unscathed)
Troops continue to line up along Israel's northern border, but Israel says it is not planning a full-scale ground invasion. (Yeah and when I start groping you Im not trying to get into your pants)
Humanitarian concerns mount as thousands of Lebanese try to flee southern Lebanon. The UN pushes for secure routes for civilians to escape and much-needed aid to be delivered. (I thought Israel had already agreed to this)
Israel targets Lebanese phone and television masts in air strikes, while Hezbollah fires dozens of rockets into Israel. (So taking down the infrastructure of the country that even Israel says is not wholly responsible is an acceptable response?)
The death toll rises to at least 350 Lebanese and 34 Israelis.
July 23: Israeli strikes hit southern Beirut, the Bekaa valley, Tyre, and - for the first time - Sidon, a southern port city full of refugees from the surrounding countryside. There are no confirmed reports on the number of Lebanese casualties. (They are expanding strikes, again bringing the idea back that this maybe an over reaction of force)
A volley of Hezbollah rockets hits the northern Israeli city of Haifa, killing two people and injuring 15. (Still fighting)
The UN's emergency relief co-coordinator, Jan Egeland, is shocked by the ruins he finds as he tours southern districts of Beirut. He says the large scale of the destruction, and its indiscriminate nature, renders it a violation of humanitarian law. (I would tend to agree, the fact that the attacks have expanded and seem to be killing more civilians than militants, just seems rather heartless)
Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz says Israel would agree to the proposed deployment of a multi-national force in southern Lebanon and suggested it should be led by Nato.(I think he is hoping for a sympathetic US force)
July 24: The UN launches an appeal for $150m (£81m) in aid and the US pledges a $30m aid package to begin on Tuesday. (I think it should have been more, but that's my bleeding heart)
UK PM Tony Blair says the situation in Lebanon is "a catastrophe", while UN Secretary General Kofi Annan says international ministerial talks in Rome on Wednesday must not fail.
Meanwhile, there is fierce fighting in southern Lebanon around Bint Jbeil.
July 25:US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice continues her diplomatic tour of the region, meeting separately with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli PM Ehud Olmert.
Mr Abbas calls for an immediate truce but Mr Olmert says there will be no let-up in army operations. Ms Rice calls for peace across the region.(I think that kind of goes without saying, even the Palestinian Pres wants peace)
Israel seals off Bint Jbeil, a Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon and carries out heavy shelling. Hezbollah guerrillas continue to fire Katyusha rockets.(At least they've stopped the whole bomb all of Lebanon thing they had going)
In Lebanon the coastal city of Tyre experiences further Israeli bombardment.(Or so one would think)
This whole conflict, has had me angry and pissed. Why? Because Israel can get away with these things. They can get away with treating Palestineans as 2nd class citizens. Making them wait at the border every day to cross and get to their jobs. Of responding with overwhelming force, while other nations would choose mediation or at least I would hope they would. I will agree and admit that the Israeli people as a whole have had a tough road, but unfortunately that is what happens when 3rd parties come in and give land and a country to people at the expense of those already living there. The reason Palestineans are so adamant about all of this is that they lived there for generations. I would probably fight if that happened to me as well.
Now today Saudi king offers Lebanon $1.5bn "Experts estimate the damage to the Lebanese economy at around $2bn, with investors and tourists fleeing, and believe that the government is set to lose out on $600m in earnings." This also with a statement of "Saudi Arabia warns everybody that if the peace option fails because of Israeli arrogance, there will be no other option but war," he was quoted as saying by state media. Wow I kinda agree with that statement, and get a bit angry at the figures of lost revenue that Lebanon will face.
I am leaving these outside of the cut so you can read them without reading the whole of the conflict and my comments about it.
Here is a story of a family trying to get out of the fighting
And again Israeli forces are accused of using underhanded tactics
Good ole cluster bombs
'Human shields' used again?
It just sickens me and makes me mad. I am not looking for flames I am looking for opinions which can be presented in a rational manner, and possibly just hoping to inform those who may not be aware of what is going on.
I think Im sexy with my new hair color
Alright so I have no job, why? Because I for once, stood up for what I though was a moral quandary and didn't feel my job paid me enough to deal with the BS anymore. Boy am I pining for my piddly check now. Funds are tight, Im getting cranky, and welp even if I do get financial aid all done I may not get my monies til school starts, which is the end of August. *le sigh* Oh well, such is life all I can do is keep churning out the resos and hope I find a restauranty job in the interim. Wish me luck, because if 2 and a half years has shown me something, it's that my paper qualifications aren't enough. Although my practical qualifications blow a lotta people outta the water, especially some paper.
Or so I though initially. Now as I slog through finding a new job I realize, that to compete I will need overpriced pieces of paper. I don't want it nor do I really need it, but it will help. So they say. So Im finishing up everything to get back to school this fall, so maybe a non-technical job would be preferred. Another thing I have to consider is the fact that we only have one car right now. Hrm, it won't be so bad I think, as long as I can find a job along the bus lines and not work too late, I should be fine. As it stands now I can bus it to school. Which reminds me I need to get a new inner tube for my bike. Or even just take it in to be worked on. Blah, more money I don't have, I need to get on my schedule and try to find classes that are at the nearby campus and get all that registration stuff done asap on Friday so I can go do the child care assistance jig. Hopefully that will prove fruitful and allow us to catch up a bit in our payments.
Well onto the family. Things are stressful, but I am over all happier than I was while I working at my last job. I really like the fact that our house is staying moderately cleaner. I also like this down time to myself, I just wish I could find someone to pay me to do something during this time. My child has spent her token months in the 3 yr old class and will be moving up to the 4 yr old class in Aug. This is good and awesome, except she will be once again be moving out of the class in which she has made a bunch of new friends. They do bring the classes together for group activities, but I know that Riley is missing a few of her old classmates. They don't seem to have as long a memory as does my child of perdition..uhh...my child.
Why do I say that you ask? Well according to some journals I've perused, when you think to say anything against the policies of Israel, you are by default, a supporter of anti-Antisemitism. So let us go forth and learn of my beef.
Here is a break down of the conflict from the BBC, I will quote a lot of it as well:
Week One
Week Two
July 12: Hezbollah fighters do cross border raid from Southern Lebanon into Israel, in this raid they capture 2 Israeli soldiers
In response Israeli planes bomb Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon and troops cross into southern Lebanon for the first time since the military withdrawal of 2000. Israel calls up reserve troops as it pledges a swift and large-scale response to the Hezbollah attack.(I know what you're thinking Ohhhhh, but they started it, yes but it did not warrant a bombing of a country that has little to nothing to do with the people who perpetuated the raid. Not only that BOMBING, not just response or defense, we are talking retaliatory bombing here. That and a pledge of large scale response?)
July 13: After a night of Israeli air raids across southern Lebanon, Israeli jets strike the runways at Beirut's international airport in the morning, forcing the airport to close. Reports emerge of significant numbers of civilian casualties in Lebanese towns and villages close to Israeli targets, with at least 35 people reported killed. (Civilian casualties for 2 soldiers, 2 soldiers who were just being held for prisoner exchanges mind you. Civilians who have no overt ties to the Hezbollah group)
The US president defends Israel's right to defend itself from attack, but France, Russia and the EU are all critical of a "disproportionate" use of force.(What ever Bush, as you can see real leaders see that this might be an over the top response)
As night falls a rocket hits Israel's third-largest city, Haifa, although Hezbollah denies responsibility.(Im inclined to believe them, as most fanatical groups will leap at the chance to claim any sort of action like this)
July 14: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promises "open war" against Israel after his offices in Beirut are bombed.(Excellent you just kicked a sleeping dog Israel)
Bridges, roads and fuel depots are hit, with new strikes against Beirut airport. The number of Lebanese civilians killed in the strikes rises above 50(Again with the destruction of people and facilities with no real ties to the group responsible)
Iran's president warns that any Israeli attack on Syria, seen as a sponsor of Hezbollah, will provoke a "fierce response".(Israel continues despite possible expansion of hostilities)
July 15: Israel expands its strikes in Lebanon, attacking a large number of targets including, for the first time, the northern port city of Tripoli.
Eighteen Lebanese fleeing a village are killed when their vehicles are struck with missiles on the road to the southern city of Tyre.(Again more civilian losses)
Speaking ahead of the G8 meeting in St Petersburg , US President George W Bush blames Hezbollah for the crisis and urges Syria to put pressure on the militants.(Wow, you mean we actually blame those responsible?)
July 16: Israeli air-raids kill at least 23 people in southern Lebanon, including 16 in the city of Tyre. Seven Canadians of Lebanese origin are killed in a village about 33 miles (50 kilometers) south of Beirut while on a family holiday.
Hezbollah rockets kill eight Israelis in the coastal city of Haifa in the worst attack on Israel since the fighting started.(These are the first Israeli deaths attributed to the Hezbollah in this conflict)
Leaders of the G8 nations meeting in St Petersburg blame extremist forces for the crisis, but call on Israel to end military operations.
July 17: Israel extends its air strikes to the north, killing at least 15 people in and around Tripoli, Lebanon's second-largest city.
Other targets include the nearby port of Abdeh - where nine Lebanese soldiers die - the capital, Beirut, and the eastern city of Baalbek.
Ten people are reportedly killed driving across a bridge south of Beirut as Israeli missiles strike.(The country is slowly being turned into rubble)
In Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the attacks will go on until two captured Israeli soldiers are freed, Hezbollah is disarmed and the Lebanese army controls the south. (How can this be accomplished when Israel is busy laying waste to the region, I wouldn't send my military into a hot zone like that if all Im supposed to do is disarm a cell of extremists especially when the other country is just randomly destroying anything and everything)
Hezbollah continues to fire rockets into Israel. One hits a block of flats in Haifa, injuring at least four people. (See how well that worked?)
In a fresh barrage of rocket fire in the evening, one lands near a hospital in Safed, reportedly injuring six people.(Now both sides are feeling it)
UN chief Kofi Annan and UK PM Tony Blair suggest sending an international force in Lebanon to halt the Hezbollah attacks, but Israel says it is too soon to consider such a move.(Uhhhh too soon? This coming from the jerks who went off half cocked and are now destroying a country?)
Lebanon's President, Emile Lahoud, insists he will never betray Hezbollah and its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.(Nice, now the power play is expanding)
July 18: Israeli strikes continue for a seventh day, again hitting southern Beirut and also the southern coastal city of Tyre. Eleven Lebanese soldiers die under air attack in the east of Beirut, while six bodies are pulled from the rubble of a building in the town of Aitaroun.
Hezbollah rockets continue to target the Israeli port city of Haifa, although there are no reports of injuries. (Both still at it)
The number of Lebanese killed since the start of Israel's offensive reaches about 230, with 25 Israelis also killed.(Kind of uneven)
The UN warns of a humanitarian disaster as Lebanese flee their homes, with air strikes on roads and bridges hampering efforts to help them.(Again non-combatants forced to suffer because of an "outrage")
July 19: As Israeli forces bomb Lebanon for an eighth day, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora appeals for an immediate end to the Israeli attacks on his country, saying more than 300 people had been killed by the Israeli air raids so far, with 1,000 wounded and 500,000 displaced.
After meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, says he has seen the suffering of Lebanese civilians and it is nothing to do with the battle against Hezbollah - it was "disproportionate". (I would agree)
But Ms Livni says the Israeli military response is proportionate to the threat posed by Hezbollah to the entire region.(So they destroy an area and it's inhabitants because of a threat of a group that isn't even really tied to the region itself?)
July 20: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan calls for a ceasefire and stresses the need to let aid into the region. (How I love this man, I want him to be an Uncle to Ri)
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agrees to allow aid into Lebanon. (At least he's not totally insane)
Many Lebanese fear their country is being utterly devastated(I felt that the caption of the picture was apt to leave in here)
Heavy fighting erupts between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants inside Lebanon's border. Two Israeli soldiers and a number of Hezbollah fighters are killed, according to the Israeli army.
Israel continues its bombing of Lebanon, carrying out 80 air strikes.(This is in one day mind you)
The death toll reaches at least 306 people in Lebanon and 31 in Israel.
But Cyprus, which is taking many of the evacuees, says it cannot cope with the influx and appeals to the European Commission for additional planes to fly people to their home countries.(Other countries are now feeling the strain from this conflict
July 21: Israel masses soldiers and tanks on the Lebanese border, called up thousands of reserves, drops leaflets on parts of southern Lebanon urging residents to leave.(Why it's their country?)
It maintains its bombardment of the country, hitting more than 40 targets, mainly in southern Beirut.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora says the offensive is now no longer against Hezbollah, but against Lebanon.(The fact that the aggresion is not lessoning and that they seem to find more Lebanese targets would indeed suggest that)
July 22: The Israeli army continues ground incursions into southern Lebanon. It says it has gained control of the village of Maroun al-Ras after several days of fighting and warns civilians in 14 specific villages to leave. (Yet do not provide anyway for them to leave or any cease fire for them to escape unscathed)
Troops continue to line up along Israel's northern border, but Israel says it is not planning a full-scale ground invasion. (Yeah and when I start groping you Im not trying to get into your pants)
Humanitarian concerns mount as thousands of Lebanese try to flee southern Lebanon. The UN pushes for secure routes for civilians to escape and much-needed aid to be delivered. (I thought Israel had already agreed to this)
Israel targets Lebanese phone and television masts in air strikes, while Hezbollah fires dozens of rockets into Israel. (So taking down the infrastructure of the country that even Israel says is not wholly responsible is an acceptable response?)
The death toll rises to at least 350 Lebanese and 34 Israelis.
July 23: Israeli strikes hit southern Beirut, the Bekaa valley, Tyre, and - for the first time - Sidon, a southern port city full of refugees from the surrounding countryside. There are no confirmed reports on the number of Lebanese casualties. (They are expanding strikes, again bringing the idea back that this maybe an over reaction of force)
A volley of Hezbollah rockets hits the northern Israeli city of Haifa, killing two people and injuring 15. (Still fighting)
The UN's emergency relief co-coordinator, Jan Egeland, is shocked by the ruins he finds as he tours southern districts of Beirut. He says the large scale of the destruction, and its indiscriminate nature, renders it a violation of humanitarian law. (I would tend to agree, the fact that the attacks have expanded and seem to be killing more civilians than militants, just seems rather heartless)
Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz says Israel would agree to the proposed deployment of a multi-national force in southern Lebanon and suggested it should be led by Nato.(I think he is hoping for a sympathetic US force)
July 24: The UN launches an appeal for $150m (£81m) in aid and the US pledges a $30m aid package to begin on Tuesday. (I think it should have been more, but that's my bleeding heart)
UK PM Tony Blair says the situation in Lebanon is "a catastrophe", while UN Secretary General Kofi Annan says international ministerial talks in Rome on Wednesday must not fail.
Meanwhile, there is fierce fighting in southern Lebanon around Bint Jbeil.
July 25:US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice continues her diplomatic tour of the region, meeting separately with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli PM Ehud Olmert.
Mr Abbas calls for an immediate truce but Mr Olmert says there will be no let-up in army operations. Ms Rice calls for peace across the region.(I think that kind of goes without saying, even the Palestinian Pres wants peace)
Israel seals off Bint Jbeil, a Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon and carries out heavy shelling. Hezbollah guerrillas continue to fire Katyusha rockets.(At least they've stopped the whole bomb all of Lebanon thing they had going)
In Lebanon the coastal city of Tyre experiences further Israeli bombardment.(Or so one would think)
This whole conflict, has had me angry and pissed. Why? Because Israel can get away with these things. They can get away with treating Palestineans as 2nd class citizens. Making them wait at the border every day to cross and get to their jobs. Of responding with overwhelming force, while other nations would choose mediation or at least I would hope they would. I will agree and admit that the Israeli people as a whole have had a tough road, but unfortunately that is what happens when 3rd parties come in and give land and a country to people at the expense of those already living there. The reason Palestineans are so adamant about all of this is that they lived there for generations. I would probably fight if that happened to me as well.
Now today Saudi king offers Lebanon $1.5bn "Experts estimate the damage to the Lebanese economy at around $2bn, with investors and tourists fleeing, and believe that the government is set to lose out on $600m in earnings." This also with a statement of "Saudi Arabia warns everybody that if the peace option fails because of Israeli arrogance, there will be no other option but war," he was quoted as saying by state media. Wow I kinda agree with that statement, and get a bit angry at the figures of lost revenue that Lebanon will face.
I am leaving these outside of the cut so you can read them without reading the whole of the conflict and my comments about it.
Here is a story of a family trying to get out of the fighting
And again Israeli forces are accused of using underhanded tactics
Good ole cluster bombs
'Human shields' used again?
It just sickens me and makes me mad. I am not looking for flames I am looking for opinions which can be presented in a rational manner, and possibly just hoping to inform those who may not be aware of what is going on.
I think Im sexy with my new hair color