Oh Lord

This group of drunk Israeli young people are obviously not representative of all Israeli youth. But this abhorrent display has turned my stomach. How can we expect peace in the Middle East when this is what my generation feels that they have the right to say about the first western politician to make any real overtures to spread peace and unity? The racism, the ignorance* and unwillingness to move on the Israel Palestine problem is also worrisome. What really astounds me is the belief that Obama doesn't care about Israel is laughable when a central tenant of the Cairo speech was America's unbreakable bonds with Israel, which must have been unpalatable to more than just Palestinian man, who had been bombed out of his home by Israeli soldiers interviewed by Channel Four News last week.

All in all, yuk.

*How can a politics student think that Obama was born outside of the states (as though no one would have noticed) and not know who Benjamin Netanyahu is? For God's sake! I know I could have attended more lectures and read more books then I did at university, but that's a disgrace.

Happy Belated One Year Terrorist Fist Bump Anniversary Barack And Michelle!

Here's a post I wish I had thought of from Gawker.

In honour of this auspicious anniversary Barack Obama shows us just what a Muslim-loving, terrorist, communist, socialist he is.

Whoa! John Stewart Criticises The Obama Administration

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I think Stewart is right here. Blocking pictures of the American military torturing foreigners to me says 'Doing this is ok because we sometimes get information that we need from it, but um..don't look at us while we do it, because it's totally wrong and we know it really'. Former Governer of Minnesota Jesse Ventura (yes, Jesse 'The Body' Ventura) made some pretty good points of on Fox this week. He asked that if waterboarding is so incredibly central to information gathering and attack prevention then, why doesn't America do it to domestic criminals and even domestic terrorists like Tim McVeigh? It's a good question, with an obvious answer and if a former wrestler can work it out, then more fool Fox right? This guy was a Navy Seal in Vietnam and had his lungs fucked up by Agent Orange (this is irrelevant - but this this guy is double hard) and is probably the only talking head who has actually been waterboarded (apart from Christopher Hitchens), shouldn't we be listening to him when he says it's torturous? Hmmm.

Also the dismissal of Dan Choi and 53 other openly gay servicemen (Arabic translators no less) is beyond ridiculous. Don't Ask Don't Tell is hopelessly flawed, it doesn't protect gay servicemen and women from discrimination and doesn't make the military any safer for gay soldiers to work in. I mean, what are they expecting to happen? Widespread military gaybashings? Isn't that happening already? If so, then problems in the military go deeper than homosexuality. It also angers me that President Obama has changed his mind on the issue, which he was so vehemently against while campaigning. I don't mind 'flip flopping' in itself, I think it's good that politicians learn more about an issue and change their minds. (I hate the way the public and media act as though listening to protest and changing your mind is a sign of weakness when to me it's a sign of good government and representation - but what do I know?) But simply refusing to get involved when you promised that you would is a whole bunch of bullhockey.

I have a very biased view of servicemen, everyone I speak to who lives in a garrison town has had problems with squaddies or knows someone who has, a mate of mine was thrown through the window of a restaurant in the middle of Colchester at midday by a squaddie who thought that he was 'looking at his bird'. Shouldn't we picking the best of the best to serve our countries? Not the violent and bigoted ones who just happen  to graduate West Point and Sandhurst*. The left must be pretty airaited about this as John Stewart is a dyed in the wool Obama supporter and to criticise him on television must have been a difficult decision to make. This is the kind of media analysis I like to do, it's clear, transparent doesn't take unnecessary potshots

Following American politics is much more interesting than following our own, mainly because I don't feel as depressed because these douchebags don't look after my interests, unlike the people we elected.  I feel sorry that Michael Martin is taking the fall for the expenses scandal. He didn't take the cash and stuff it into the pockets of the MPs, he shouldn't be taking the rap alone. Obviously.

*I'm a liberal, of course I am pre-programmed to hate the military. But you know, all the rapes (like this one, this one, oh and this one), murders (and don't forget the rapes AND murders) and Deepcuts don't help matters.