Are you listening, Americans?

This morning I scanned the news and found a photo of Condoleezza Rice leaning over a wide table to shake hands with the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Fouad Siniora. They are smiling for the camera. It reminded me of similar photos of surprise trips made by Rummy and George, secret trips to war zones with the big, "Surprise - here we are to support you!" Of course the story and pictures do not appear until after they've already left the danger zone. Who are the photos and visits for? They are for our consumption. Not the Lebanese who are in no way able to sit around reading the daily papers these days. Just how palatable would this story be to them anyway?


For the past two weeks Washington has been downright defiant in their refusal to call for a ceasefire. The US went so far as to veto a UN resolution calling for an end to hostilities. Think about that for just a moment and then think about George's veto last week on stem cell research saying that a frozen embryo is a valuable complete human life even as he condones the killing between our friend Israel and ?'our' new fledgling democracy, Lebanon. Oh, and then there is this: Israel asked us to quick send more guided missiles out ASAP including a few dozen 5,000 lb. ?'bunker busters.' In one night Israel dropped 23 tons of bombs on Beirut. Gee, guess they need to reload to defend themselves.

This is not about defense.


Condoleezza said this past week that the destruction, dislocation, and human suffering and death in Lebanon are an inevitable part of the ?'birth pangs of a new Middle East.' This is a woman who has never had birth pangs. Most women do not watch their homes and families get destroyed as they give birth. Their bodies do not suffer irreparable damage and they have nothing to mourn following a normal delivery. This is more like a birth after a war rape. This is like Rummy saying "democracy is messy" watching the looting of antiquities in Iraq while the oil fields remained under fierce protection.


How interesting to see that the countries who are supposedly "blossoming" into democracies in the Middle East: Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq, are now being punished by the brutality of war. And that the weapons raining over their heads are from the US.


In other news, while we are waiting for a ?'birth' in Lebanon, we cut a 6 billion dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia. We already send Egypt a few billion a year to help them be ?'more democratic.' This comes (a coincidence?) as Saudi Arabia and Egypt are being ?'encouraged' to pressure Syria and Iran into somehow stopping Hezbollah. We refuse to talk to either of those countries. Saudi officials have gone on record as calling for the US to put "a stop to the bleeding in Lebanon." They are joined by European and UN diplomats as well as Lebanon's Mr. Siniora who had no comment after his meeting with Condi. But the Bush team will only urge Israel to use "the greatest possible care" in destroying the city of Beirut (again). And the state department tells us not to expect a cease-fire in the near future. How ironic that they are blowing up the very buildings that Former Lebanese PM Rafik Harari, rebuilt following the 1982 war. He was killed last year, bringing on the Cedar Revolution which led to Syria leaving the country and now they are destroyed once again. With friends like us….


I check the end of times website www.raptureready.com periodically to see how the religious fanatics are doing. This week on the message boards you will find a kind of bizarre voyeurism; vultures standing around speculating how all this carnage predicts the Second Coming. There is nothing of the Prince of Peace to be found here, only a kind of salivating over the ?'necessary' suffering of innocents. They can't wait.