June 16, 2010
Mr. Foxman, and many of his co-religionists, are very unhappy about the public response to the Israeli attack on the Gaza humanitarian aid convoy. Although the convoy was not armed, it was attacked by Israeli Defense Forces in international waters, boarded by force and a number of its passengers were shot to death by the IDF.
Mr. Foxman is terribly upset because, as he says, passengers and crew members of the invaded ships dared to fight back and actually injured some of the invaders! What did Voltaire say of similar matters? 'This animal is dangerous. Why, when it is attacked, it dares to defend itself!'
In international law, which Israel obviously has no respect for, such an act is considered piracy and is illegal, and punishable.
Although this action caused a wave of international protest and revulsion, it was given only the barest of coverage by the American print and television media, who then rushed to inform us of the terrible oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico. 'Oh, look over there children, see the pretty bird? No, Jimmy, don’t look at the roadkill, look where Mommy tells you to look.'
And I note that while British Petroleum does indeed have the lease on the leaking site involved, the total ineptness and lack of concern for possible damage was the direct responsibility of Halliburton. I doubt if anything will be done about Halliburton, once the darling of their former CEO and later Vice President, Tricky Dick Cheney.
Halliburton got hundreds of millions of dollars of no-bid government contracts when Tricky Dick was in power and according to the Army, was useless and, in many cases, dangerous (their portable showers electrocuted many GIs) but nothing was ever done to punish this worthless but well-connected organization.
But I suppose we can all look at televised blobs of tarry oil on beaches and see soaked and dead birds and other wildlife while Halliburton can slip out the back door and perhaps join Blackwater in further acts of death and destruction and gross incompetence. And, supported by Abe Foxman and many loud-mouthed others, Israel can plan, and execute, more acts of vicious savagery."