The Sources of Terror

The above is taken from Frida Berrigan's and William D. Hartung's article " U.S. Military Assistance and Arms Transfers to Israel: U.S. Aid, Companies Fuel Israeli Military" .

Referring to the French Revolution, Mark Twain wrote : "There were two 'Reigns of Terror,' ......the one wrought murder in hot passion, the other in heartless cold blood; the one lasted mere months, the other had lasted a thousand years; .....but our shudders are all for the 'horrors' of the minor Terror, the momentary Terror, so to speak; whereas, what is the horror of swift death by the axe, compared with lifelong death from hunger, cold insult, cruelty and heartbreak? ........A city cemetery could contain the coffins filled by that brief Terror which we have all been so diligently taught to shiver at and mourn over; but all France could hardly contain the coffins filled by that older and real Terror - that unspeakably bitter and awful Terror which none of us has been taught to see in its vastness or pity as it deserves."

Gaza has the 'privilege' of being subjected to both the momentary and old Terrors. The memory of their sufferings will not last for very long in western documents and psyche. They, the Western world are very selective about who they classify as Victims. Palestinians haven't got a hope in hell !

Chechnya had to deal with Russia only. Iraq and Afghanistan suffered invasion at the hands of USA, Britain, France, Australia and a host of other lackey nations.
But that little strip of God's earth called Gaza, is being smashed to pieces by the combined strength and wrath of the world's richest and most powerful nations. The Lord said "Vengeance is mine"

Harold Pinter, the English playwright who died recently, asked the question , ""How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal?" I would say that any soldier of any nation that kills even a single child from any race or tribe or religion must be put on trial as a cold blooded murderer.
But we all know the life of one Israeli is equal to 10 (?) 20 (?) 30 (?) Palestinians.

From Cikgu's Note Books to the Ignoramuses Out There

What You Don’t Know About Gaza

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By RASHID KHALIDI

Published: January 7, 2009

NEARLY everything you’ve been led to believe about Gaza is wrong. Below are a few essential points that seem to be missing from theconversation, much of which has taken place in the press, about Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip.

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Ronald J. Cala II

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Times Topics: Israel | Palestinians | Hamas

THE GAZANS Most of the people living in Gaza are not there by choice. The majority of the 1.5 million people crammed into the roughly 140 square miles of the Gaza Strip belong to families that came from towns and villages outside Gaza like Ashkelon and Beersheba. They were driven to Gaza by the Israeli Army in 1948.
THE OCCUPATION The Gazans have lived under Israeli occupation since the Six-Day War in 1967. Israel is still widely considered to be an occupying power, even though it removed its troops and settlers from the strip in 2005. Israel still controls access to the area, imports and exports, and the movement of people in and out. Israel has control over Gaza’s air space and sea coast, and its forces enter the area at will. As the occupying power, Israel has the responsibility under the Fourth Geneva Convention to see to the welfare of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip.
THE BLOCKADE Israel’s blockade of the strip, with the support of the United States and the European Union, has grown increasingly stringent since Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Council elections in January 2006. Fuel, electricity, imports, exports and the movement of people in and out of the Strip have been slowly choked off, leading to life-threatening problems of sanitation, health, water supply and transportation.
The blockade has subjected many to unemployment, penury and malnutrition. This amounts to the collective punishment — with the tacit support of the United States — of a civilian population for exercising its democratic rights.
THE CEASE-FIRE Lifting the blockade, along with a cessation of rocket fire, was one of the key terms of the June cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. This accord led to a reduction in rockets fired from Gaza from hundreds in May and June to a total of less than 20 in the subsequent four months (according to Israeli government figures). The cease-fire broke down when Israeli forces launched major air and ground attacks in early November; six Hamas operatives were reported killed.
WAR CRIMES The targeting of civilians, whether by Hamas or by Israel, is potentially a war crime. Every human life is precious. But the numbers speak for themselves: Nearly 700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed since the conflict broke out at the end of last year. In contrast, there have been around a dozen Israelis killed, many of them soldiers. Negotiation is a much more effective way to deal with rockets and other forms of violence. This might have been able to happen had Israel fulfilled the terms of the June cease-fire and lifted its blockade of the Gaza Strip.
This war on the people of Gaza isn’t really about rockets. Nor is it about “restoring Israel’s deterrence,” as the Israeli press might have you believe. Far more revealing are the words of Moshe Yaalon, then the Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff, in 2002: “The Palestinians must be made to understand in the deepest recesses of their consciousness that they are a defeated people.”
Rashid Khalidi, a professor of Arab studies at Columbia, is the author of the forthcoming “Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East."

For the non-Malays/Muslims who have a problem with Muslim sources and Muslim names, this article was published in the New York Times. You don't have to agree but you cannot deny the facts. If you do not like the facts, then stick your head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich and pray that your country, your loved ones, your co-religionists do not have to suffer like the Gazans. And don't let your children watch the news. On British TV they always have a warning "You may find the following report distressing " .

Cikgu's Comment to Anonymous

hello cikgu, can you please write on whether it's safe to have a violent organisation, like hamas, as the ruling party of a neighbouring country?? I think I'm missing on a few details. Because I feel Israel is right to bring the war onto the strip after all that is happening with the muslim-branded rockets being fired randomly into their zionist land. If Hamas cared about their people, they wouldn't even think about throwing a rock over the wall anymore.

January 9, 2009 1:29 PM

I assume you're an adult, unlike the 12-17 year old kids I used to teach. As a Che'gu I would advise you to do your own reading and not shoot from the hip.

You may have a problem reading Muslim web sites and comments from Malay Muslims. So do look up sites like Counterpunch, www.counterpunch.org . John Pilger and Robert Fisk are extraordinarily sharp and brilliant analysts. And of course there's Noam Chomsky - who has written many books on the the Middle East. There's one particular article by Uri Avnery, " An Apology" in Counterpunch (June 16, 2008) which I highly recommend. And by the way the last two are both Jews, though I do not see why that should matter. ANYONE who is concerned about justice should be able to separate the perpetrators from the victims.

Finally a word of advice from Teacher: People who live in glass houses should not throw powerful American-Judaeo Bombs and Rockets at people who can only throw stones and small missiles.

.

Re- do of extract of Yahoo news

Dear All,

I seem to have a problem with the reproduction of the article on Sir Alan 'target for extremists'.
So I'm typing it out because of failed technology.

Apprentice star Sir Alan Sugar has been said to be among a list of top British Jews thought to be targeted by extremists over Israel's Gaza onslaught.
According to a newspaper, the multi-millionaire businessman was named on an Islamic website along with pop producer Mark Ronson, Foreign Secretary David Milliband and Labour peer Lord Levy.
One strand on the site asks for help compiling a list of "those who support Israel", the paper said , while another asks "Have we got a list of top Jews we can target?"
A link to the Power 100 list of top British Jews is also provided.
The Community Security Trust, which advises safety advice to UK's Jewish Community, has said it expects the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain to rise as a result of the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The organisation said: "We are advising prominent Jewish individuals to be conscious of potential threats."

This was taken from The Press Association on Yahoo News, Wednesday, January 7 o3:41 am

Little Great Britain

Remember how Nero played his fiddle while Rome burned? Now observe how the Western media 'tunes' the news as Gaza is awash with the blood of the innocents . This is a convenient piece of news to put across while the terrorist state of Israel is pounding the Palestinians back to the Stone Age. Even though these academics are really trying hard to justify their salary by reporting on the positive face of suicide bombs ??? which in itself defies comprehension and relevance - the inclusion of this research as news is to remind the great British public that there's danger and threat out there from the Muslims. Remember July the 7th? Just like remember, remember the 4th of November when Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament.


And now lo and behold, whose precious lives are now under threat? Rich and prominent British Jews have to be protected from nasty Muslims as a result of the Israeli - Gaza conflict. Conflict ?? Isn't that rich? Do you call the massacre of a barely armed tiny section of Palestine by a terrorist nation armed to the teeth merely a conflict?? What a tame word to use when this is a bloody war, of Goliath attacking David !

Dear, dear I hope the rich and prominent Jews in Britain and all over the world, barring Israel of course, will take precautions for their safety and lie low until the blood in Gaza has dried up and they can look forward to new settlements on what used to be Gaza and the Christian and Muslim Palestinians can go to hell.
Shalom

P.S. There's a problem with viewing the second Yahoo News. Please look at the next posting to read the full text. Thanks

For Ben

Land of Heart's Desire
Where beauty has no ebb, decay no flood,
But joy is wisdom. Time an endless song.

W.B. Yeats

You remember Macik in very special ways. I will always remember you for allowing me to put my head on your lap and cry my heart out on 21 Sept 1982 - the day my beloved brother departed.

Don't worry about yesterday's accounts - we still have many (?), several (?) tomorrows.
Welcome back to our Universe. This time, don't stay away too long.

P.S. Help Lely, how did I get 2 videos?

KAMISAH - the Heart of Hamid and the Family (CsH)

This posting is specially for Hisham, Mahzan, Maria, Hidayah, Shaharuddin, Mariam and Hana - the grandchildren of Hamid and Kamisah. I ask for indulgence from readers other than the family because today I realised how I have committed a grave oversight for not putting my mother in the picture.

As children, we do take mothers for granted because they are always there, quietly getting on with the day to day tasks of keeping the home and hearth together. Father was the bigger picture because we were always reminded by mother that he puts the food on the table. So should it be but that should not diminish her devotion.

We had lunch with a book reviewer today and she talked about how as a child, her mother would always read her a book before she goes to bed. My mind then clicked and I exclaimed suddenly that as a child I was the one who read to my mum! It was because my mum was illiterate I explained. But that is a wrong word to describe a bright intelligent woman with a fantastic memory and who could inform you about the latest world and local news. Besides that she also looked after the family's finances without jotting down a single number. I could think of other words like unschooled, untutored, uninstructed, unlettered, uneducated, unread and so on. I think my dear ole mum is unfathomed and unrecognized. As a mother she resorted to her basic instincts and natural good sense. She was brought up by a stepmother who she loved immensely and it was difficult for her in her later years to be reconciled with her natural mother.

Most afternoons when I was about 8/9, my sister and I would take turns to have our lice, or nits picked from our hair. It was a laborious task for my mum. But it brought her a bit of joy because I had to read her a story from Cherita Jenaka while she got on with the job. Here are two pages from that book.

This is the inside cover of the book. The front is a mess because it has been in my keeping for years. It has travelled from Singapore to UK and back to KL .

You can see it is well read and well loved. Sometimes I would have to keep on reading even after her 'nit picking' was done. Those were the days sans TV !!

Righto kids, here are some pictures of your Atok 'Mok.


That's Atok 'Mok on the right with her elder sister Salmah taken in would you believe it, Geylang ! She was 17 in 1940.










On the back of this photo was written Mr and Mrs Hamid, Royal Air Force, Kuantan, 1941.
Kamisah was expecting her first child, Maznah - her expectation is barely visible.










My favourite picture of her - taken when she was 45/46 ?





And Finally







All I can say to a wonderful lady:

O, Bulan ! Mana bintang ?
Atas puchok kayu ara ;
O, Emak ! Mana hilang ?
Kita orang rindu senantiasa.