Jamming The Message

Something awesome about having a blog is the fact that I can publish whatever I want. I am my editor, I censor nothing, I have no desire to do certain things for corporate advancement, so on and so forth. Its this defiant attitude in my little piece of media that I love, no-one can tell me what to say and I reach you know, a few loyal people.

Its fun to take the media and be naughty with it. I’m a big fan of ‘culture jamming’, unofficial uses of media, doing things to change the message. Its jamming the intended signal and its a form of activism that many people love to take part in. If you’ve ever created or contributed to a meme (as in the /b/ kind), for example, thats a kind of culture jamming. Meme’s are a public concept, a message we share driven by society and our understanding of an idea, which are often changed over and over to give a funnier meaning. Graffiti on a billboard is another example.

Its often politically motivated – anti-capitalist, eco-critical, feminist or anti-consumerist to name a few forms. Theres something about seeing a slogan on a poster altered by someones texta to change the message that makes you want to giggle and we immediately identify with the creator. We are like the person who wrecked the message, we were supposed to be the consumers, but we turned it into a laugh, to what we wanted to read.

And doing it is fun. It makes us an active audience, anyone can make media and participate in a public sphere, but how do you want to do it? Its all meant to be a bit playful, it feels good, its thrilling and exciting. We are resisting the dominant ideology, the capitalism that tells us to shut up and buy.

Slash fiction is also another form of this. Women would write stories about the fictional gay relationship between Kirk and Spock from Star Trek, and it became extremely popular. They successfully poached the male friendship and turned it into a romantic relationship. You can now find slash fiction on many popular tv shows or games. I’m a big fan of Tekken slash fiction, particularly ones between Hwoarang and Jin Kazama. My favourite is The Quality Of The Sword by XMMishimaX.

Other popular culture jammers are The Chasers, who work from an official state doing unofficial things. They provoke responses to act as a critic to current events and values. There is Banksy who is probably the most popular graffiti artist in the world, the Guerilla Girls who focus on feminist billboard banditry and many other pranksters.

Why be famous when you can be infamous?

I Can’t Get Jiggy With This Shit!

“Did you sleep on the wrong side? I’m catchin a bad vibe

And its contagious, whats the latest?

Speak your heart, don’t bite your tongue..

Don’t get it twisted, don’t misuse it

Whats your problem? Lets resolve it

We can solve it, whats the causes?

Its official, you got issues, I got issues

But I know I miss you..”

I’m trying to forget this weekend. It fucked up any sense of peace I had before. Friday was okay, I went to the footy, had a few quiet beers with the crew afterwards at the pub, went to bed earlyish. But Saturday killed me. You know when you have one of those nights when you’re such a dickhead that you wish you were never born? Is it just me?

It started off when I ran into hook up boi at the petrol station. I recognised his car immediately and thought ‘FUCK!’, but I was too far in to just leave, it woulda been too wack, so I drove to the furthest pump from his and ignored him. We’ve spoken a few times through text but haven’t seen each other since I last spoke of him, and I’ve been ignoring his mes’s for a few weeks now.

So anyways we both have to be driving the same way, don’t we? He’s in front of me and slows down to try and force me to overtake. So I speed up and plan on zooming past, but he starts to speed up too. I just pushed the pedal down even further and got as far away as I could, breaking all the speed limits, I didn’t care I just wanted to get away. He decides to chase me. By now I’m cursing him every name under the sun and after an awkward stop light he eventually changes direction. Who the fuck does he think he is? Was he trying to intimidate me? Has he lost his fucking mind? I really must have pissed him off hard. I’ve never seen him so out of control like that, usually you can barely get a reaction from him.

“No justifications for your actions

Shoulda been somewhere relaxing

Dont compare me to your last one

I don’t care if she was a fast one, a sassy one

I’m a classy one..

I can’t keep it from getting at you, hun

Seems like that should make you happy, hun..”

We went to a birthday at a pub that night, open bar. There were hardly any people we knew so I compensated by getting blind. I didn’t try to pick up or anything but I was being flirty and I cringe when I remember the conversations I had, what a fucking idiot. The shame. How can people put up with me? I just say whatever I think of, theres nothing to stop the flow of stupidity, it kills me. I was violently ill of the mouth by the time I got home, literally as I opened the car door. Thank god I didn’t try and push everyone to go clubbing, who knows what I would have done! Man I’ve had the guilts so bad since then. I can’t seem to shake em.

To make it worse, my dad decided that now was the time to openly discuss his new relationships with women. Like fuck, I know he has to move on and that at some point I have to accept them, but he’s basically telling us he’s doing booty calls at any hour of the day and oh my god, I cannot deal with that information. They only separated about a year ago. I don’t want to know these things.

And it shits me as well, he complains they want more from him, more like a relationship and he’s saying he doesn’t want anything serious.. He’s doing things I hate men doing! How can he treat women like this? I am so stunned by his new conversations that I don’t even know what to say so I just look at the floor and try to pretend I didn’t just hear what I thought I heard. I can handle him dating, kind of. I can get used to it. But what I can’t handle is endless random women coming over at stupid hours and following him to his room.

Are we so fucking expendable? Is that what life has come to? Is that what we are worth now, a good time now get the fuck out? I feel partially responsible, he asked me for advice and I told him he should just date around and see who was interesting, he didn’t need anything too full on. But I meant in the go for coffee and get to know them way.. Obviously thats not how he took it! I’m so angry right now, but I don’t want to hurt him by showing him my anger because I know it would gut him. He honestly doesn’t think what he’s doing is bad and he would be shattered that he’s upset me.

My sister spoke to him about it today and its kind of sorted, a little bit. She told him we don’t want to see making out on the couch (she walked in on that) and intimacy while she is under the same roof really freaks her out. So I think he’s going to stop. I know he means well, he thinks he’s being good to them I suppose (?) but I’m so shaken up. The thing is, I know my dad, I expected this behaviour, I just can’t handle it now that its in my face. Fuck, I seriously need to chill out, I’m gonna bust a vein or something!

“Am I supposed to change?

Are you supposed to change?

Who should be heard?

Who should be blamed?

Who should be hurt?

Who should be shamed?

Who should be hurt and will we remain?

We need a resolution, we have so much confusion..”

Wanna Swap Cat Stories?

One thing I love about Facebook are all the groups you can join, but sometimes it weirds me out when strangers try to add me through them. I’m very suspicious, and I think that almost everyone is a spy sent from my enemies, trying to look at my page. Although, I’m very tempted to accept the friend requests of hot guys, I can um and er over those for days before declining.

Today some chick tried to add me because we have the same type of cat and are in a group together. I dunno, I found it weird. I could add her I suppose, but what for? What will we say to each other? She wants to swap cat stories, she said. I don’t have cat stories, I just have a cute cat! He does things every now and then but they’re not stories.

Pooky, Mon Petite` Meow

I’ll feel bad to decline her, I always feel bad declining people I don’t know but I really hate awkwardness and can’t imagine anything beneficial coming out of it. And how silly is that, somebody wants to be my friend and I say fuck off! Am I that antisocial? See how I over think things? She’s still sitting there, 1 friend request, probably will be for days.

The thing is I’m kind of a private person, I hate that on FB everybody knows when I update or add someone. If someone sends me a private message and I cbf replying, I have to not do anything that can be seen in my page that would let the person know I’m online. The thought of some weird cat lady having free access to all my info is worrying to me.

Cattie, The Prince Of Orange

I can’t even let my friends or family read this blog, because I would hate them knowing too much of what I think. Plus I wouldn’t want to censor myself and if I knew they read it I would change it all, rewrite everything, delete posts. It fucks up creativity. But then, what kind of person am I that I have to hide all my thoughts away, like they were evil or harmful? Who has this many secrets from their loved ones?

I think I’ll ignore the friend request.

Goddamnit, BB.

Tonight is the second last Big Brother show ever and I’m pretty shattered. I know it turned to crap and everyone hates it, but for a while there it used to be pretty cool. Maybe I’m just perversely voyeuristic, I suppose thats probably true. My favourite tv shows are few and mostly reality; America’s/Australia’s Next Top Model, The Hills, Australian Superstar, Project Runway, Big Brother and Gilmore Girls.

But I’ve lost faith in reality, more things are scripted than they should be, people’s images are manipulated, editing being very biased. I pretty much hate Australia’s Next Top Model now after Jodhi Meares made sure her favourite beachy Tigerlily superbrat devil spawn Demelza made it through every round and eventually won. I’m that cut about it that I’m debating whether or not to watch it next year, coz whats the point? The nice girls always come last. I can’t stand watching a show that lets the villain win. You can’t reward their shitty behaviour like that, its wrong!

And Big Brother is going to try to do that. Rory is probably going to win. The dickhead who ‘helicoptered’ the nanna, Terri, with the other villain Nobbi, only we’ve all seem to have forgotten there was a partner in this crime. Not only that, but Rory did worse. Anyway, who cares. It was the shittest of shit seasons. All the characters sucked. Dixie was probably the best but they were all annoying stereotypes, not enough intelligent debate. I miss the first few years, and the one with Fryzie & Bree on it, despite how gay they got after with the Friday Night Live hosting. I cried when Ashlee got evicted that year because I felt her pain, she had nothing outside of the house, it had been the love of her life.

Vesna and Dino were by far the best housemates ever. Vesna was hilarious, she was the only one in the house who argued with people the way I wanted them to be argued with. She was funny and cute, she stood up for her beliefs, she had cool hair. And Dino was so smart, not to mention hot. You didn’t get to see all that much of his debates but they were always intelligent and thought provoking. Or maybe I was just blinded by my crush. This post is for them, they made Big Brother worth watching. In every following year I wanted more Dino’s, Vesna’s, Bree’s, Ashlee’s and Fryzies.

But no, Big Brother had to kill it all with silicone and surfies with washboard abs. With Zoo magazine and ‘shock guests’ (wtf, a tranny?) and Friday Night Live. Its supposed to be 12 people, locked in a house, no outside contact for 3 long, psychologically challenging months. I loved that shit. Big Brother uplate was the best show in the universe, it was up when I was (all hours of the night) and it was live streaming of the housemates with no editing whatsoever. But no, they had to get a host and fill it with quizzes.

Goddamn, I miss that Big Brother. This new one can go to hell.

1st Birthday Of Nothing You Confess

So NYC is officially one year old today and I can tell you I never thought this blog would progress any further than an online diary of my drunken escapades and dates gone wrong (evidence of that can be found in the first 3-4 months). But here we are, with a better direction and active amongst the blogosphere. I’m very proud of my little NYC and grateful to everyone who’s taken the time to read her, and comment on her bullshit. I know she can be moody and tiresome at times, even offensive, but thats how she rolls and she can’t change that.

This birthday party is wild! Hehe.. You want some stats? I’ve had only about 12,200 views, most of which came in the last 4 months when I began to get more serious about updating. This is the 67th post, and theres about 240 comments. Not much ey? She’s a quaint, shy little piece of work. Special thanks to the ‘Australian Writers’ crew who embraced me as one of their own. A clan of awesome writers, make sure to check out their entertaining and informative blogs.

Cheers and much love,

LuLi

Smite Me, I’m Annoying

I’d never even heard of World Youth Day until a couple of weeks ago when it started to be all over the news. My sister and I both looked at each other after a tv report and simultaneously said, “What the fuck is World Youth Day?” She shook her head and I replied, “I dunno but it sounds stupid.” And I was right.

The funny old Pope, coming to visit Australia, he got off the plane and walked straight past our Prime Minister, ignoring him. The Pope is too important to have to deal with riff raff like that. What a dick.

And what a waste of money. Can you think of any other religion besides Christianity that our government would bother spending a quarter of a billion dollars on? Will they pay for the Ayatollah to come down and chuck a party when Eid rolls around this year? The Muslims would be lucky to get a free jumping castle for their end of Ramadan celebration festivals. I have to say though, the Broady festa is where you will find Melbourne’s best kebabs. Trust me on this one. I am a kebab connoisseur.

But the worst thing to come about from it would be the ‘annoyance laws’, those temporary powers the cops have to infringe against our freedom of speech and right to assemble. Um, what the fuck? Is this not a backwards step for democracy? What of all those promises for an enshrined bill of rights in our constitution? Obviously, those go out the window in the presence of an important person such as the Pope. I guess when Bush comes down to see us I should gladly accept being thrown into jail for citing so much dissent against him in my writing. I mean, its practically terrorism.

Complying to the Pope like this is sending quite a strong message to all of Australia. We condone hatred of homosexuals, we condone limiting your freedom, we condone the controlling of womens bodies (and minds) and by gum we’ll spot the bill for it all too.

Luckily, theres one place that will not condone any of this shit, the Federal Court, who threw out a case of ‘annoyance’ against two activists, saying that it was an infringement on personal freedoms such as the freedom of speech, so on and so forth. Thank fuck somebody around here has a bit of sense.

The Humble Aussie Bloke

Someone holding a ‘mofo shot’ from my sisters party.

Damn my late night habits that will never die. My lil bro will be so pissed if he knew I was still awake (its 3.45 currently). I’m sposed to be taking him to get a long overdue haircut, his last one he estimated was 10 months ago. The kids got hair down to his shoulders! Well anyway, I had a thought so I had to write it down.

A month or so ago my sis had her 21st. It was an awesome night, heaps of people there. Our main group of mates are a very friendly and welcoming bunch, so any drinks night we have always turns into a long houred rager, full of shots and drunken chit chat. We always make sure to include any new people, and something that ties us together as a crew is our fondness of roaming around from group to group, talking to as many people as possible. I’m probably the one who’s the most annoying with it, anytime we’re out anywhere I’ll talk to anyone in close range to me, I’m always dragging people into the festivities and making friends with weirdos and characters. I like to think of it as good PR work, but its really just my drunk big mouth doing its thing.

Well, this had a point. At my sister’s party my cousin brought along his girlfriend, she’s been out with us a few times and this night was just a testament to our successful welcoming of her over time. She felt so comfortable that when we brought out the guitars to have a bit of a muck around (as usually happens with our boys, who are all fond of playing) that she, well.. She kind of took over. As a drama student, she has a way of being quite over the top and is very animated. She’s also very talented musically, in both singing and playing guitar.

A few of the boys making a variation of the Tequila Slammer. Snort the salt, Slam the shot and Squeeze lemon in the eyes.

Another thing about our group is that while we are very mixed in nationality, we all mostly identify with the ‘Australian’ culture despite some of us being only second or first generation Aussies. We all drink beer, listen to similar music, like to have a laugh, love sport, can be smartasses, are straight forward and blunt, act ‘tough’.. You know, all the makings of a classic patriarchal Aussie ‘bloke’ – even us girls follow along with it in a feminine counterpart kinda way. The reason this comes into play is because my cousins girlfriend broke a very important rule, not by having talent, but by not being modest about the aforementioned talent.

She wasn’t shy, she was full of herself, she was showing off and it made us all uncomfortable. I left the room after her first song, knowing she was going into a full concert, so I missed a lot of the action. But everyone I’ve spoken to after, especially the males in our crew, all mentioned her performance and found it to be quite cringe worthy and lost a lot of respect for her. Which is kind of sad really, she’s a lovely girl but she’s a performer at heart and she loves the spotlight. Theres absolutely nothing wrong with that, if she has talent she has every right to show it off, its just that what she did sat uneasy with our own consciences because we find the lack of humbleness to be distasteful.

My older brother finally gets a chance to play.

I just think its interesting to note this little common notion at work within our culture. A ‘good bloke’ is never full of himself and works hard, he is talented but when commended he always downplays it. Thats just the way we’ve been brought up to think and I know my father is quite a strong example of that. I only found out last year that he is amongst the top ten of his profession in the world. I always knew he was good to some extent because he was always wanted for overseas trips and had reasonable job security, but I didn’t realise exactly how talented he actually was. Because he would never ever say it, not in a million years, he has a big issue with keeping it under wraps and its partially because of this ‘bloke’ shit.

He wanted us to be proud of him but he wouldn’t tell us even though its such an accomplishment. I don’t remember how we got it out of him, we might have even found out from a friend, but I’ll always remember the day I spoke to him about it. I told him that I was proud of him and that I thought he was amazing and that I know he’s very modest but that it was true and he should accept it, and it touched him so deeply that he shed a few tears. It shocked me to the core, I don’t think I’d ever actually seen him cry and it made me realise how much this ‘bloke’ character affects people. You won’t be surprised to learn that his father was the bloke of all blokes, always hard, tough and unfeeling, and I feel pretty lucky that my dad came from that influence and turned into the affectionate and loving person he is.

Dad made time for the footy while the party was going off outside. Looks like Mackie on the tv.

People’s characters are very complex and deep rooted in ideas and events that may have taken place in their lives decades ago, we’re all pretty traumatised in our own ways, we all suffer from someone else’s problems because of this trickle down effect and intricate weaving of beliefs. Its sad to see the ways that patriarchy has also affected men, I really feel for my dad for the shit he’s gone through and I can tell by seeing how my own mates act that he is just one of many.

I’m finally off to sleep (at 4.52am!) so good night and sweet dreams.

Idol Or Legend..

I have a fancy dress party coming up and I’m finding it hard to think of an Idol or Legend who has the same kind of hair as me, dark and curly. I’ve been straining my brain about it for a while and I’ve thought of only a few things that will match me. I could straighten it and go as Cleo, but how boring and cliched. I could leave it curly and try to make some kind of robe out of sheets, and be Athena from Greek mythology. But I dunno, thats kind of iffy. I think my mums going as Cher, because she looks like her and everyone said all her life that they were the same so I could never do that one, its her thing.

An Idol or a Legend. Does anyone have any ideas? I wanted to go as Shakira but she bares a lot of skin and I don’t think I’m down with that. Plus its going to be in a pub so thats just asking for trouble. Also, I’m not blonde. But I do love Shakira so much. Or I’d love to go as Ling Xiaoyu but I doubt I’d ever find an outfit for that without ordering something off the net. Please, suggestions are very welcome. I don’t wanna be the square who didn’t wear a costume.

A Bit Of Planetarium Perspective

“No pill can heal the ill of this sickness

Some are still in doubt of its existence

Some call it forgiveness and some say its the vengeance

Some say its an exit and some say its an entrance

The poor say the rich have the cure

The rich say the poor are the source

Revolutionaries say its a psychological war

Invented by the press

Just to have something to report..”

My last couple of posts have been a bit volatile and thinking in depth about these kinds of things we often have no way of changing can sometimes be draining and frustrating. Arguing points and debating are good for the brain, but are also a strain on your psyche. I know when I think about it long enough, the worlds problems and my own can overwhelm me and I wonder if I can ever get past these things and back to happiness.

The best person I can be is unselfish and caring and its hard to uphold that 24/7. When I don’t get what I want and when things aren’t going my way I can get grumpy. Once I reach a certain point of grumpy, nothing will satisfy me no matter what you do because not only do I want my own way, but I’m feeling guilty about getting it so its like damned if you do, damned if you don’t. A kiss on the cheek and a cup of tea can usually remedy this though.

When I’m in these moods something that always brings me back down to earth is trying to remember all that I have, that others don’t have. I’ll never go hungry. I have a family who will love me no matter what I do. I’m not in a country that ignores my basic freedoms or that tortures me. Its good to see how small my problems are in comparison to those of the world, because it teaches me to shut the fuck up and be grateful.

I went to the Melbourne Planetarium last Saturday and if you’re feeling like you want to remember that your life is ok, and that sometimes things don’t matter then I recommend seeing the ‘Are We Alone In The Universe’ show. It only costs about $5 and its narrated by Harrison Ford, so where can you go wrong?

“Lately I’m getting better

Wish I could stay sick with you

But theres too many egos left to bruise

Call it sin, you can call it whatever

Eating deep inside of you

Well if it were me its all I’d ever do

I’m the generator, firing whenever you quit

Yeah, whatever it is, you go out and its on

Yeah can’t you hear my motored heart?

You’re the one that started it..”

I also want to say that sometimes we find ourselves being unreasonably angry to those around us, parents, friends or people we don’t like but are forced to be around. Even if they are poisoning you with their negative energy towards you theres really only one way to get around it. You have to take their venom and return it with a smile and a loving attitude. Remember that if they are pissed off it hurts no-one but themselves unless you let it hurt you. Once you retaliate and hurt them back you just played into their shit and got owned because you’re the one hurting now.

Also, pissed off people and in fact most people in general are holding a lot of hurt in their hearts. Sometimes the reason is hard to identify, but sometimes you already know that Sammy can be cold because his dad left him when he was a kid and he finds it hard connecting to people without putting his pride in the way. If you understand that people are sad, sometimes they’re over it and sometimes it never heals, you can find the compassion to deal with anyones hate. They’re just reflecting their pain onto you, which you might do to someone else on a different day.

I know we can all think of a moment in our lives where we were so overcome with sadness and despair that we thought we could never get up again. We have all felt it, so why perpetuate another’s pain by being rude or mean? Let it go, its much healthier and you will be a happier person for it. And then take that happiness, go outside and look at the sky and see how you feel. Its probably as close to understanding the meaning of life as I will ever get.

“Thinking about thinking of you

Summertime think it was June

Yeah think it was June

Laying back, head on the grass

Children grown having some laughs

Yeah having some laughs.

You made me feel like the one

Made me feel like the one

The one..

I don’t know where we are goin now..”

The Israeli – Palestinian Conflict

I’m not afraid of voicing my beliefs. This topic is one that needs to be voiced as much as possible, as thoughtfully and thorough as can be managed. I’ve touched on it before in this post on the Sabra and Chatila Massacre of 1982 and hopefully I’ll be more dedicated in the future to speaking about it.

This disclaimer is necessary as there will be some people who want to twist my words or paint me as anti-Semitic, racist or Nazi-like. Any accusations of those here will not be deleted, but will be ignored. I’m speaking against the state of Israel as a government body and the Zionist movement, NOT against the Jews or the Israeli population. I won’t be bullied or silenced by anyone and I’m only responding to intelligent debate, not name calling.

The colonization of Palestine by the Zionist movement began in the late 1800’s with the first wave of mass Zionist immigration into the first established modern kibbutz on Palestinian land, Petach Tiqwa. Some Jewish journalists and lobbies began calling for a Jewish state in Palestine with many funding groups began to be set up for it and a number of Zionist organisations were established.

The Balfour Declaration was a pledge for British support of a homeland for Jews in Palestine, in which they dedicated a country and land which did not belong to them to the Jewish people. This declaration marks the beginning of many ‘legitimising’ declarations and paperwork of one country giving away another with absolutely no right to do so. To see a more thorough timeline of this chain of events I’ve found this page on the FreePali website to be quite detailed. British and Zionist military powers proceeded to remove Palestinians from their land.

Removing them from their land was not as straightforward as the term implies. It was done by terrorising the Palestinian population, scaring them away, dissolving their government organisations and silencing their voices. The reason for the massive outcry against Israel is for the sheer multitude of massacres, bloodshed, torture and terrorism it takes part in every day for the purpose not only to control the land, but it seems also to complete a total genocide of the Palestinian population. This is what distinguishes it from other invasions and conquering of countries.

Some massacres include the King David massacre, the massacre at Baldat al Shaik, Yehida massacre, Khisas massacre, Qazaza massacre, Serimiramis Hotel massacre, massacre at Dair Yasin, Naser Al Din massacre, Tantura massacre, Beit Daras massacre, the Dahmash Mosque massacre, Dawayma massacre, Houla massacre, Salha massacre and many more which you can read up on here and here. Or alternatively, just google the names of them, I haven’t even listed a quarter but you get the idea.

The thought and detail that goes into these killings is quite horrifying. They take time to desecrate any books or holy things, skin bodies, eviscerate, rape, bulldoze, dig mass graves, torture, remove limbs, smash heads. There is no distinguishing between babies, mothers, children, men or the elderly. And why should there be? They get away with anything.

Dying is not the least of their worries. Israel regularly shuts off their electricity, withholds water, holds back aid, subjects them to road blocks, seizes their land, denies them any basic human rights. UN resolutions order them to give back the land and withdraw but they ignore this, thanks to US intervention and help. No country has violated as many UN resolutions as Israel, over 80 resolutions at this point in time. Even though it is a signatory to the Geneva Convention Israel continues to torture the Palestinian population.

Despite the whole hush-hush of the issue by western media, thankfully the internet now makes it possible for these daily attacks to be documented and for information on the issue to flow more easily. Blogs are a godsend and some good ones I’ve come across are Desert Peace, Peace Palestine and Palestinian Voice but there are hundreds, possibly thousands of like minded blogs on the web to be found and read.

There are a few major contenders in the silencing of the truth, being Israel itself, the US and most western media because it is owned almost completely by people with ties to the Zionist movement and the Zionist lobby. Its quite obvious why Israel would want to keep it under wraps. The killing of innocents goes on unstopped when it denies everything, their denial seems to have more weight in the world even when the bloody corpses are lying at our feet.

The US is a strong ally of Israel’s, it often comes to their aid in military crisis, sends them tens of billions of dollars every year, vetoes resolutions from the UN against Israel, sends them weapons, supports the Zionist movement and the list goes on. There has now been over 60 years of US interference in the middle east and most of it had to do with supporting Israel. They went to war with Iraq over nuclear weapons, when its common knowledge that Israel has the world’s biggest stockpile of nuclear weaponry.

The Zionist lobby and western media are quite intertwined. Any report against Israel gets slammed as anti-Semitic, any hailed Palestinian intellectual gets falsely portrayed as supporting terrorism, and anyone who objects is labelled both. Its quite difficult to avoid their wrath. Because there are so many Zionists in high positions in business and politics they hold much influence over the western media and a very narrow minded view is presented. We’ve been reading lies in our so called ‘news’ papers and the omission of truth is just as bad as lying.

Arguments I hear that support Israel state that it was first their land. No, it wasn’t. This is a religion based view and holds little scientific weight today and as such has been abandoned. A variation is that Palestine was an empty land. This is wrong again, before Zionist migration there were almost a million Palestinians living there, 78% of them Muslim, 11% Jewish, 9.6% Christian Arab.

The terrorism argument justifies Israeli terrorism in retaliation to that of the Palestinians. From the end of 2000 to the start of this year almost 5000 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis, almost a thousand of them minors. In comparison, around 700 Israelis were killed by Palestinians in the same period. This doesn’t include the hundreds of extra-judicial assassinations of Palestinians that also took place.

An eye for an eye is not the way we work in this 21st century. Its just interesting to note that while the Palestinians who kill are extremist terrorists and not officials, the Israelis who kill are ordered to by the government and are not rebels, but it would be accurate to describe them as a terrorist group.

It is time to end the occupation.

**UPDATE**

Channel Ten’s late news reported tonight that an Arab man had been driving a bulldozer around Israel, running over Jews, killing 3 and injuring 35. He was shot dead and Israeli officials have called him a ‘terrorist’. Oh the irony!