Personal musings on Israel, Jewish matters, history and how they all affect each other
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Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Hitch on Revolutions
I continue not to know where Arab democracy is going this week, this month, this year. Just like everybody else doesn't know. Hitch, however, brings a perspective I haven't much seen in all the verbiage, so you might be interested in reading it.
I'm not sure why Hitch assumes there are only to choices in regards to the peace treaty. Opening the Gaza border to weapons shipments and flooding the Sinai with heavily armed troops would fall short of all out war, but would force Israel to spend large amounts of money for minimal risk.
While it's true that Egypt's gas won't fetch the delusional prices the Egyptians believe they are owed, some replacement for the American aid money can surely be found.
Barry Rubin has been cautioning about the dangers even of a nationalist government that tries to co-opt the Islamists. I don't think the possibility of such a government can be easily discounted
The states of Latin America have had decades of revolutions followed by dictatorships followed by revolutions. It looks as though some real democracy is at last emerging on the continent.
I think we are seeing the beginning of this process in the Middle East (and Iran and Pakistan). I predict democracy will be established around the middle of the next century.
At present, they have the same mixture of religious extremists, Marxists, freedom fighters, and get-rich-quick-experts that has kept Latin America on the boil for so long.
Tom Segev is back into I know it all mode in this interview (on February 12 on radio he had sounded almost lovable in his confusion and fear) - Segev is treated by our media as the ultimate expert - why do they never interview Yaacov? Because he wouldn't say what they want us to hear? never mind the language. If Yaacov's spoken German shouldn't be up to it we are used to simultaneous translations blending out the original voice.
the last paragraph baffles me since I always thought that any proposal that would deprive Palestinians of their own state was blasphemous. But then who am I to understand anything.
OT Yaacov, if there’s any possibility could you ensure that a native English speaker edits Daniel Blatman’s book? Most of them are minor, but there are a few too many errors, and I don’t like seeing them mar such a book. T34 Btw, the local library system ordered 2 copies.
I'm not sure why Hitch assumes there are only to choices in regards to the peace treaty. Opening the Gaza border to weapons shipments and flooding the Sinai with heavily armed troops would fall short of all out war, but would force Israel to spend large amounts of money for minimal risk.
ReplyDeleteWhile it's true that Egypt's gas won't fetch the delusional prices the Egyptians believe they are owed, some replacement for the American aid money can surely be found.
Barry Rubin has been cautioning about the dangers even of a nationalist government that tries to co-opt the Islamists. I don't think the possibility of such a government can be easily discounted
T34
The states of Latin America have had decades of revolutions followed by dictatorships followed by revolutions. It looks as though some real democracy is at last emerging on the continent.
ReplyDeleteI think we are seeing the beginning of this process in the Middle East (and Iran and Pakistan). I predict democracy will be established around the middle of the next century.
At present, they have the same mixture of religious extremists, Marxists, freedom fighters, and get-rich-quick-experts that has kept Latin America on the boil for so long.
Don Cox
OT
ReplyDeleteTom Segev is back into I know it all mode in this interview (on February 12 on radio he had sounded almost lovable in his confusion and fear) - Segev is treated by our media as the ultimate expert -
why do they never interview Yaacov?
Because he wouldn't say what they want us to hear?
never mind the language. If Yaacov's spoken German shouldn't be up to it we are used to simultaneous translations blending out the original voice.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,749503,00.html#ref=nlint
the last paragraph baffles me since I always thought that any proposal that would deprive Palestinians of their own state was blasphemous. But then who am I to understand anything.
OT
ReplyDeleteYaacov, if there’s any possibility could you ensure that a native English speaker edits Daniel Blatman’s book? Most of them are minor, but there are a few too many errors, and I don’t like seeing them mar such a book.
T34
Btw, the local library system ordered 2 copies.