The Right To Bear Arms

As a child, long guns were plentiful around the home and were used to hunt animals we brought home and cooked and ate with relish. Hunting is the most ancient tradition, part of what makes us human. Hunting and defense are related to the offensive fighting many animals exhibit when acquiring territory in which to raise young.

In humans, the use of guns accompanied the kill off of many species, before this awesome power was recognized and curbed to some extent. Among humans this new power is used to dispatch hated enemies, which lessened the number of indigenous cultures. Now firepower is being used to destroy nations.

I was taught utmost respect for firearms and concern for the physical damage possible to inflict. The possession of firearms must be accompanied by a moral understanding of the use of power. Since our Bill of Rights applies to every individual in a moral sense, disarmament is not an option. One must live to understand limitations on behavior imposed by the granting of basic rights to all individuals, not just for a select few.

Peace settlements must include land and water rights and payments to injured parties. Dense population, little water and land add up to war, like too many people will migrate or fight for territory like Sheba’s farms. Palestinian refugees still live in Lebanon, a government that had to absorb the extra population due to their displacement for the migration of Jews from Europe in the aftermath of World War II. Dissent swirls around this time in history, threatening to draw combatants into World War III and the true holocaust.

Living Room? Definitely. I’m glad they didn’t decide to make an Israel in Arizona and take my land to do it. I understand the hate and vengeance and a desire to retake what you once had. Reparations must be paid. Call it rent. Call it payments on land, like other people pay. Buy land and give it to the victims of this displacement. I cannot help but wonder who has the property the displaced Jews in Europe possessed in those various European countries, the people of whom turned on the Jews for what reason? Who profited? They should pay.

The invasion would be wise to reverse and grind on home without firing another shot. Take the bulldozers and go home before somebody occupies it. Stop the missiles. Ground the warplanes. The Arab League is not to be ignored and the provision of an issue around which to unite is an unforseen side effect of the Hezbollah War. Nothing is being gained by this war and the satisfaction of retribution against faceless opponents who nonetheless lay dead appears to others as a cruel and unusual punishment for offenses where a trial was held in secret with no witnesses from the convicted were even considered.

The same can be said for other instances called war. An immediate cease fire should also extend to other hot spots. We’ve done enough, folks. Who gets the oil supply in Iraq? Split up Iraq and divide it up as to Kurd, Shia, Sunni and let mixed areas decide which to join.

The Blind Leading the Blind

The Blind Leading the Blind into disaster.

The inexperienced Mr. Ehud Olmert is Prime Minister of Israel since March 2006 and has deviated from his campaign promise to continue unilateral disengagement, which is a viable substitute for real peace, certainly preferable to the current situation. The attacks in Lebanon have shaken the duly elected government of Lebanon, which undermines the efforts of the USA to establish democracies in the region. The Israelis are using arms from the USA to decimate Lebanon, which is not what I can accept from a moral point of view.

An inexperienced Mr. Olmert has led Israel into a war that clearly is not the way to solve problems. Mr. Rumsfeld said that the conflict originates in the differences among systems. I find the coping mechanism the Israelis are using is not an acceptable solution to feuds. Calling for ‘annihilation’ will not work when you are small in numbers, even if you have superior weapons. It is a fool’s errand and people are getting killed over it. Disarmament is not an option, given the tactics employed by both sides.

Mr. Ahmadinejad is quoted in the press as calling for the death of Israel. If this is accurate, then he is impractical from a logical, moral point of view. Islam has a mechanism for tolerance of non-Islamic groups. I am not expert to discuss how but I suggest the procedure be researched. The Jews may have preceded the Hittites that I believe the Persians are but nobody knows for sure. I know that the Phoenicians, Babylonians, Hittites and Syrians have been living in that area for eons. The world needs diversity of cultures that encourages creativity when they meet. Creativity or War?

No less than the death of species is the death of cultures, but technological advancement need not be the death knell of major religions. Learning of God’s world is not prohibited but for the sins of man.

The world needs an immediate cease fire in the Middle East and I applaud the UN initiative. All involved parties need to agree, however. The conditions set down by each must be examined and addressed fairly. A settlement will not be imposed nor will unilateral disarmament be the solution. Technology is ubiquitous and no borders are safe. We must get along.

Thank you to the French and I do hope that a settlement in Iraq and Afganistan is reached the same way. Start working on it now talking to some of the same parties and see if the bloodshed can be halted.

I do believe that the oil companies with interests in the Middle East should pay some of the rebuilding costs and contribute to relief efforts, since they now have a plethora of money. Rebuild and reinvest and allow the financial centers to flower anew. Investment in research and development of energy sources is a world imperative.

"Vengeance be Mine," saith The Lord

“Vengeance Be Mine,” saith The Lord.

Ehud Olmert is Prime Minister of Israel and appears to hold all the reins of power to commit to a course of action defined as annihilation of a group of people who call themselves Hezbollah. When the Nazis attempted to exterminate the Jews, an outcry of defense for them has been heard for 65 years and all aid was accepted as their due. The moral structure of our civilization prohibits the ‘extermination’ of groups for the convenience of another. I believe the old Testament says to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

This problem cannot be solved militarily, particularly when the training exercise in Gaza escalated to full scale war over the kidnapping of 3 soldiers. Does a Prime Minister have such powers without the mandate of the suffering electorate? Can his power be curbed or is this a military takeover of a ‘Democratic’ government? An Israeli official now says it is impossible to seize all of Hezbollah’s weapons. Further military incursions help no cause. It is interesting to note that the invasion is coming from Israel, not Lebanon. Withdraw to the international border or is this a land and water grab in the disguise of preemptive warfare?

I believe in the right of an individual to own a firearm. If that right is forfeit through the use of a firearm during a legally defined crime, so be it. It is a natural human response to arm if their neighbors do so, certainly if murderous intent is declared. Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword. The belief in individual rights has no international boundaries and banning firearms for certain groups based on ethnic differences is undemocratic. The possession of firearms is not an issue to regulate but is an issue to respect when dealing with neighbors. Possibly the missing MWDs are floating around somewhere.

Vengeance solves nothing. Civil discourse with enemies is necessary.

Peace Talk Strategy for Success

Start Up Peace Talks Now and Be Practical in Choosing a Course of Action

For a true long term peace, the combatants must all be recognized as a legal representative before negotiations begin. Initially negotiate by giving a speech in alphabetical order, then another speech round unless their time is given to a sponsor, allowing for leaders to emerge naturally. Taking all the existing alliances into account, allow free talk aimed at settling disputes and seeking peace. All members must have interpreters.

Members will include representatives of all interested groups irregardless of prior activities. These groups will suspend hostilities while they meet. Criminal gangs cannot be in control of the homeland.

USA, Iraq, Iran, Britain, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, Baath, Taliban, Israel, Hamas, United Nations, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Rafsanjani, al Sadr Russia, France, European Union, The ‘Stans, Turkey …There must be others. I don’t know all the names, only categories that include various political groups and heads of state. Nobody is too good to sit next to anybody. Everyone will be required to submit a negotiating position paper prior to attendance.

No complaint about your tablemate. This is what is now. Perhaps the future will be different. You must adapt to existing conditions and not focus on a pipedream or the past. Elimination of groups is not allowed. All should listen to all in honor of the fallen.

Peace from Israel and in Israel, peace for Palestine and Iraq and others in order to usher in PAX GLOBAL. Start over today to avoid the sins of the fathers to be forever visited upon the children, the hell on Earth forevermore. Freedom takes space. Who is there is who is there but losses must be paid. In a shrinking world, land is what people fight over. No more land grabs. Remember, there’s land in outer space, along with resources and riches but exploration is crippled while wars continue.

One huge peace to begin PAX GLOBAL and the grand era of world cooperation. We need an unfettered meeting of the minds after all preconceived notions and orders are cast aside. Nobody can tell anybody who they can talk to and nobody may refuse to listen to another. All sides will be heard.

The world community has problems greater than just the causes of violence that could be settled without more bloodshed. Payments in the currency or goods of your choice. Study reparations carefully. Settle something. Each gives a bit and compromises to a workable solution. Think of the benefits of peace.

And the warmongers in all groups should find another amusement.

I would our generation give the gift of peace.