The Tip of the Sword by Ira Schwartz

“If the Arabs put down their weapons today there would be no more violence.

If the Jews put down their weapons today there would be no more Israel.”

That is how I opened my October 4th article “Friends Forever”. It basically discussed the long and fruitful friendship Israel and the United States has enjoyed over the years. It’s still a good read and is listed in “The Hollywood Republicans” October ’09 archive.

In that article I went on to say..

“When the discussions with Iran fail, and they eventually will, it will be Israeli aircraft that take out the Iranian nuclear reactors not US fighters. Again we will publicly condemn them for this but privately applaud them for doing what we could not do without starting another war. Why would they do this? Because that’s what friends do.”

That statement is now even closer to the truth than when it was originally written. As I write this article Iranian “aid” ships are heading for Gaza determined to confront Israeli warships enforcing the Israeli blockade around Palestine. The Iranians say their ships carry medical aid, supplies and volunteers. The Israeli’s and most of the rest of the world are highly skeptical.

We all know what happened the last time ships tried to run the Israeli blockade. Despite at least a half dozen warning by the Israeli gun boats for the Turkish ships to turn around they continued. When the Israeli commandos boarded the ships they were immediately attacked with pipes and knives by those peace loving volunteers Turkey said were on board. Several YouTube videos of the incident clearly show the Israelis not to be the aggressors and were only defending themselves against this premeditated ambush. When the smoke cleared nine of the peace loving activists had been killed and six Israeli soldiers were injured, one severely.

To add insult to injury a Senior Hamas member, Ismail Raduan, responded to the IDF takeover on the vessels sailing to Gaza, saying that "this is state-sponsored organized terror. We are calling on the international community to do something. These are crimes against humanity and against our Palestinian people.”

Now this is the same Hamas that had no problem launching suicide bomber attacks against Israel from 1993 to 2005. In all 377 Israeli civilians and soldiers were killed and over 2,000 injured. But since they are now a legitimate government, so to speak, it’s okay for them to cry foul and expect the whole world to listen. Unfortunately those brain dead morons at the UN did. And in their infinite wisdom have decided to launch an investigation into the whole matter. Israel said, “Thanks but no thanks” we can investigate it ourselves. And they made it very clear that no Israeli will participate in any way with the UN probe. Surprisingly the United States actually backed Israel.

In late May Israel deployed three nuclear submarines to the Gulf region, well within striking distant of Iran. All three submarines are said to be carrying nuclear weapons. Those submarines join two Israeli missile cruisers that have been on station there since February.

But this is just the beginning. Earlier this week the Saudi Arabian government quietly gave Israel permission for her strike aircraft to use Saudi airspace on any bombing missions to Iran. It is not a secret that the Saudis, Egyptians and Jordanians, who are Sunnis, hate the Iranians, who are Shiite. The two groups have been killing each other for hundreds of years over which, Shiite or Sunni, is the rightful heir to Muhammad. The thought of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons has forced the three countries to put their differences aside with Israel and assist them anyway they can. I guess the old saying, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” is true if only for a short time.

And what is the United States doing while all of this is going on? The Obama administration is still trying the diplomatic approach with more sanctions that China and Russia keep watering down. Meanwhile Iran gets closer and closer to developing at least two nuclear devices. But we don’t have to worry this time because we are not the target. Iran’s target is and always has been Israel. And we can be sure the Israelis will do whatever they have to to insure the safety of their people. Something our present administration seems to have forgotten how to do.

But if the Middle East goes nuclear you can be sure it won’t stop there. And all the death that will be incurred will be the responsibility of every nation that is a member of the UN’s Security Council. Because all the warning signs are there and plain to see but Russia, China, England and the United States would rather play politics than take them seriously.

I could not end this article without commenting on the anti-Semitic remarks made by Helen Thomas, a member of the White House Press Corp for the last 57 years. For those of you who don’t know what she said a link has been provided to the video. The Hearst Corporation, her employer, forced her to retire after she said that all the Jews in Palestine should “get the hell out” and go home to Poland, Germany and America. Thomas, soon to turn 90, must have forgotten why the Jews left Poland and Germany in the first place. After all she was only in her mid twenties when it happened. (Thank you Jon Stewart). I won’t elaborate further and only say, “Bye, bye Helen. You departure is long overdue.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVlg01QMN3k&feature=player_embedded

© 2010 by Ira Schwartz. Used with Permission. All Rights Reserved

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights by Craig Covello

I was at the hospital earlier this week for a meeting with some folks in ICU regarding a new technology we are piloting.  Walking back to my motorcycle after the meeting, I nodded to a black security guard in the parking lot with the expectation that he might disapprove of my self-made parking space at the end of the isle.  Instead, the gentleman said hello with a distinctly foreign accent.  We managed to strike up a conversation in which he shared something about his background and politics.

He grew up in small county in Africa, lived in London for about 10 years and finally settled as a legal immigrant in the U.S about 8 years ago.  I asked him what he thought of the current political climate and without hesitation he expressed deep concern that America was changing for the worse. He believed that most of the people in the world look to to our country as "heaven."  It is considered as a place to escape oppression and embrace freedom.  He liked America's values while recognizing some of its faults.  But those faults paled in comparison to America's virtues.  He was glad to be here, but worried that if American freedom is lost to the radical left, there would be no place left to go.

In one respect, his comments were heartwarming, but his concerns were also a little chilling.  In a nutshell, his focus was about freedom and innate rights.  Rights to express your own opinion.  Rights to raise a family without government intervention.  Rights to make your own decisions and go your own way.  Rights to believe in God without being persecuted.  Rights to make an honest living with the possibility of greater financial success.  Rights to keep your own property.  Some would call these Human Rights.

A little history....On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The U.N. Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."  Whether I agreed with the charter of the United Nations, I thought it might be interesting to review all 30 articles in this declaration and compare them with the current policies, statements and actions of the Obama administration.  Not surprisingly, I found our current leadership's vision at odds with about 25% of these declarations.  Areas of contention included -

1.  The UN's prohibition on involuntary servitude vs. the US's excessive taxation, unsustainable debt, discussion of compulsory public non-military service and unfunded government mandates.

2.  The UN's belief in personal privacy vs. Senator John Rockefeller’s Internet Bill S.773, which gives the Secretary of Commerce access to all privately owned information networks.

3.  The UN's support of the family as a "natural and fundamental group unit of society" vs. Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) recent actions urging his fellow lawmakers to consider a repeal of a 1996 law that defines marriage as union of one man and one woman.

4.  The UN's belief in personal property ownership vs. Obama's advocacy of wealth redistribution.

5.  The UN's belief in freedom of opinion and expression vs. the White Houses attack on Fox News, talk radio and the US Chamber of Commerce.

6.  The UN's prohibition on forced membership in associations vs. the proposed US "Employee Free Choice Act" which can make unionization votes public and allow supervisor to join union ranks.

7.  The UN's belief that higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit vs. the US Affirmative Action legislation.

8.  The UN's belief that parents have the right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children vs. the radical left's overwhelming influence over public schools. Case in point - Obama's appointment of Kevin Jennings as "safe school czar who is on record as supporting Harry Hay of the North American Association for Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA).

These represent some of my conclusions, but I encourage you to read all 30 articles for yourself.  You may have a different interpretation that thankfully can still be expressed on the internet without fear of government retribution.  That's why my friend from Africa lives here.  Let's hope he does not have to move again.

http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
 
Copyright 2009 by Craig Covello.  All rights reserved.  Used by Permission.