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[21 August 2007|11:50 pm] |
Tuesdays and I are not best of friends. With the exclusion of my very first semester of university when I only had classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, Tuesdays have been one of my least favourite days of the week. This semester is particularly tiring, as I have three lectures and one tutorial over the space of 9:30am to 5:45pm, and this wouldn't necessarily be so bad if one of those weren't so dull and if the other two, although enjoyable, weren't so mentally taxing and done by lecturers who go through everything in excruciating detail. They know their stuff and I love the lecturers, but different days would be nice.
But today was totally worth it. It's not every day that a regular lecture becomes a public lecture and you get to listen to a Justice of Israel's Supreme Court. Not just any Justice either, but the first Christian Arab permanently appointed to such a position. That was a pretty bloody awesome lecture. I very nearly rolled over and went back to sleep when I awoke this morning, but I'm quite glad I managed to find enough motivation to get up instead.
I'm such a generork, I know. |
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[16 August 2007|11:33 pm] |
Highlights of Axver's day:
1. This morning, I bought a ticket to see Muse here in Melbourne on the 15th of November. Got a pretty good seat too. As much as I enjoy most of Muse's music, I don't like them (or the sack of shit that is Black Holes And Revelations) enough to be bothered with the whole "lining up for ages to get a good spot in General Admission" thing. Plus, since I'm going alone, a seat suits me better anyway.
2. Ate far too much food with Kate this afternoon. At least I do a fair bit of walking these days in comparison to past standards of laziness and inactivity.
3. Indulged in generorky fun this evening by going to a public lecture at university. It was given by Michael B. Oren (perhaps best known for his book on the Six Day War) on the topic of "Jews, Statehood and Power: Israel and the Challenges to Jewish Morality". One of the courses I'm doing this semester is the History Of The Arab-Israeli Conflict, so this tied in rather nicely, especially as this week's focus was on the differing Israeli and Palestinian narratives of the creation of the state of Israel. Oren, who has not just studied Israeli history but served in the IDF, provided a rather interesting perspective and was a very engaging speaker. I won't try to provide an analysis of what he said or provide arguments about its validity, as I'm dead tired and no good could come of it. However, I will mention one side matter that struke me: the way in which Oren used holy texts such as those regarding Moses. It was interesting for someone such as myself, who has grown up in two countries where such texts are used to advance religious, theological purposes. Oren, of Jewish background, used them for a cultural purpose, something I have a hard time relating to but that I enjoyed hearing. It was nice to hear someone quote a religious text without then proceeding to force it down my throat. I was also surprised that when he was discussing figures such as Moses, Joshua, and Nehemiah, he spoke of the "Bible", not of the "Tanakh". Perhaps to cater to his audience? I don't know.
If I can get my lazy arse into gear, I have a few politically flavoured entries to write. Or maybe I'll just talk music. I've been enjoying plenty of new stuff lately. |
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[24 July 2006|07:48 pm] |
I have been trying to formulate a stance on the present conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, but I am finding such a task more difficult with every passing day. At heart, I am a pacifist, and it is hard to merge my beliefs with the reality. I do believe Israel has a right to exist, and whether or not its creation in 1948 was a mistake doesn't change that opinion - we can't rewrite history, and we can't just say "oh, too bad, sod off, we're erasing your country". That kind of practice may have been acceptable in the past (although in a different context, I think here of Europeans totally disregarding established boundaries throughout the world), but it certainly isn't now and it's a sad indictment that people still have not learnt to live together despite racial and cultural differences. So, yes, I support Israel's right to exist, and I support the use of self-defence to maintain its territorial integrity and provide safety for its citizens. Terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah do need to be wiped out.
However, in light of news such as this, I find it increasingly hard to even consider supporting Israel's present action. In the first few days of the conflict, I was close to granting intellectual consent to Israel's actions, given there was a history of provocation rather than just an isolated incident, that they were claiming to target Hezbollah, and that Lebanon is quite simply a failed state, incapable of reigning in Hezbollah. However, the increasing civilian casualties and other hardships placed upon innocent non-combatants outright sicken me and I do not believe it is justified by any means. Israel's response appears excessive, and I question its effectiveness. Aggression often just breeds aggression in response, and the mounting Lebanese casualties will certainly be pushing the sympathies of the ordinary Lebanese away from Israel and closer to Hezbollah. And given the presence of Syria and Iran in Lebanon and Hezbollah's organisational structure, I can't help but get the feeling that this is just a proxy war and again the people of Lebanon are being caught in the crossfire of someone else's war.
My desire is for the destruction of terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah and the establishment of a permanent peace acceptable to the ordinary people of both Israel and Lebanon. I just do not know how such goals can be achieved, or whose actions merit support. This conflict is immensely saddening and, I fear, hopeless. |
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[10 July 2006|07:21 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | australia, conflict, human stupidity, iraq, israel, learning from history, palestine, politics, queensland, violence, warfare, weather | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | 'The Cry Of Mankind' by My Dying Bride | ] |
You know you live in Queensland when the temperature on a winter's day is 24C (75.2F for the Yanks) and that's considered to be just three above average (69.8F).
I find it interesting that for the last while, John Howard and Peter Costello have maintained that there was no secret deal about a handover of the Liberal Party leadership, but now it has come to light that there appears to have actually been something of the sort. And, of course, Howard is brushing it off as a "conversation". I can't help but suspect he's playing a petty semantics game. It doesn't take much brainpower to realise that any deal would have taken place in a conversation between the two parties. I'm cynical enough to not trust John Howard as far as I could throw him anyway. It's a bit rich that he's spewing forth nonsense about the "good of Australia" when his government hasn't exactly worked for much Australian good. I can't say I'm looking forward to next year's election though, given that I hate the Labour Party, especially Kim Beazley, about as much as I hate the Liberals/Nationals and none of the alternatives exactly set my political world alight either. I feel tempted to run as an independent and see if anyone votes for me.
Moving abroad, the continual cycle of violence in Israel is just ridiculous. Do people just not think, are they such slaves to base desires for revenge that they are incapable of seeing the bigger picture? I have to wonder: don't the Palestinians realise that continual aggression such as suicide bombings, kidnappings, and lobbing missiles over the Gaza border are sure to incur the wrath of one of the world's most formidable armies? And don't the Israelis realise that they're just taking the bait and encouraging even more violent responses from the Palestinians? I cannot fathom why people are so unable or unwilling to live in peace.
Speaking of that, it seems Iraq isn't exactly improving. Now, as much as I oppose the Iraq War, I previously stated that the US and its allies should at least see the job out (though have the decency to formulate some kind of timetable or exit plan!). I'm starting to wonder, which is the lesser of two evils? Is a continued military presence really going to do much good in the long term, or serve as an increasing source of antagonism? Or will the country just implode into this decade's Somalia if there is a removal of forces?
You'd think people would learn from history. Didn't the 20th century teach us anything about the utter futility of warfare? No, of course not, just like the 19th century didn't, nor did the 18th, or the 17th, or the ... |
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| Hypocrisy comes out to play. |
[27 January 2006|11:43 pm] |
I love watching political hypocrites expose their hypocrisy for everyone to see. In case you haven't heard, Hamas has won the democratic elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council, the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority. It seems that the same people who before the election were merrily chanting the usual line of "let's spread democracy to everyone [whether they like it or not]!" are now horrified and refuse to acknowledge the victory. Some politicians have even hinted that they won't recognise the Hamas government. Now, I'm not particularly thrilled about Hamas's victory, but let's be consistent here, folks. If you are going to claim to support the spread of democracy, then you have to handle outcomes that you don't exactly find agreeable.
It's not democracy if only the people you like and support are allowed to win. |
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really fucking tired