<< Previous day Blog posts in this category Next day >>
<< Previous year (same day) (if any) Next year (same day) >>
May 24, 2006 [LINK]
New Israeli P.M. visits
Ehud Olmert, who replaced Ariel Sharon as Israel's prime minister last month, spoke to a joint session of Congress after paying a visit to the White House. He said Israel wants to engage with the Palestinian authority, supports the aspirations of the Palestinian people, and has no desire to oppress them. President Bush gave implicit backing to Israel's intention to unilaterally impose borders if the Palestinian authority refuses to negotiate. See Washington Post. I think that is an appropriate position, but the United States should keep a low profile in that dispute. Generally speaking, it's not our business how Israel decides to defend itself. Likewise, whether Hamas decides to leave behind its terrorist ways is beyond our ability to influence.
This reminds me of a letter to the editor by James McGrath in the Washington Post that compared the walls being built in Israel and along the southern U.S. border to the Berlin Wall. He seemed to be implying that the walls are similar instruments of oppression, which is utterly absurd. Not seeing the huge difference between a wall built by a dictatorship to keep people locked up, versus a wall built by democracies, defending against unlawful intruders, is an act of willful ignorance. Mr. McGrath has an unduly cynical view of the administration's promotion of freedom, but if Mexico and other Latin American countries adopted policies that encouraged greater economic freedom, their people would not be so desperate to come here. It's much the same thing with Palestinian people, who can't find work in the territories no longer occupied by Israeli forces.
Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 24 May 2006, 10: 43 PM
(unformatted URL) .
ALL blog posts today
New blog post entry
This post is over a week old, so comments are closed.
© Andrew G. Clem. All rights reserved. Your use of this material signifies your acceptance of the Terms of use.
Hits on this page (single blog post) since July 2, 2007: 
Category archives:
(all years)
Baseball
Politics
Latin America
War
Wild Birds
Culture & Travel
Science & Technology
This (or that) year's
blog highlights
January 7, 2006 ~ DeLay gives up majority leader post
January 12, 2006 ~ Alito withstands Dems' "torture"
January 16, 2006 ~ Michelle Bachelet wins in Chile
January 19, 2006 ~ Views on Iran's nuclear ambitions
January 24, 2006 ~ Fallout from Canada's election
January 31, 2006 ~ Second (& third) thoughts on Iran
February 1, 2006 ~ The State of the Union, 2006
February 8, 2006 ~ D.C. Council votes "yes," but...
February 18, 2006 ~ Checks and balances in wartime
February 22, 2006 ~
Neocons & Neolibs: chastened alike
February 28, 2006 ~
The Dubai Ports World uproar
March 14, 2006 ~ New D.C. baseball stadium unveiled
March 24, 2006 ~ In the footsteps of France?
April 7, 2006 ~ Immigration compromise fails
May 16, 2006 ~ Bush militarizes Mexican border
June 6, 2006 ~ Alan Garcia triumphs, once again
June 9, 2006 ~
Zarqawi: The death of a terrorist
July 3, 2006 ~
Election in Mexico: too close to call
July 5, 2006 ~ North Korea goes ballistic
July 28, 2006 ~ Garcia prepares to lead Peru, again
August 4, 2006 ~ Israel invades Hezbolland
September 6, 2006 ~ "Crunchy conservatives": for real?
September 25, 2006 ~ Nationalists thwart conservation
October 3, 2006 ~ Nationals: Year in review
October 29, 2006 ~ Virginia's marriage amendment
November 7, 2006 ~ The people render their verdict
November 8, 2006 ~ Republicans lose big time
November 9, 2006 ~ Allen concedes / Election post-mortem
November 13, 2006 ~ Toward consensus on Iraq?
December 1, 2006 ~ Realism and our goals in Iraq
December 6, 2006 ~ Latin America & U.S. trade policy
December 8, 2006 ~ Iraq Study Group reports
December 22, 2006 ~ Yuletide political roundup
Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.
Explanation
The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:
- Wild birds (LAST)
- War
- Science & Technology
- Politics
- Latin America
- Culture & Travel
- Canaries ("Home birds")
- Baseball (FIRST)
Also see: My blog practices.
Blog errata (Nobody's perfect.)
