Ibrahim Barzak and Karin Laub, a pair of writers for Yahoo! News, state in their article, "Palestinian civilian toll climbs in Gaza," that as Israeli strikes against Hamas rocket launching stations and Hamas military leaders, Palestinian civilians continue to get killed in the crossfire.
In the article Ibrahim Barzak and Karin Laub state, "Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip on Monday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 94 and devastating several homes belonging to one clan as Israel broadened its targets in the 6-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel." As Israel attacks targets in Gaza to stop the rocket fire, they also accidentally kill many Palestinian civilians. Understandably, the Palestinians aren't happy about this.
Barzak and Laub also state, "Escalating its bombing campaign, Israel on Sunday began attacking homes
of activists in Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza." The activists often have several people living in their homes or are living in the homes of other people. This cowering behind civilians is the cause of many civilian casualties.
Also stated in the article, "Hamas fighters, meanwhile, have fired hundreds of rockets into Israel in
the current round of fighting, including 75 on Monday, among them one
that hit an empty school." The murder of civilians is not a crime committed exclusively by Israel. Hamas continues its unjustified assault on Israel with rocket fire, encouraging even more action from Israel to stop the rocket fire.
This reminds me of the beginning of many wars throughout history. One country does something little and (often unintentionally) provokes a response from the other. The other country then responds negatively and the original country responds negatively back. This cycle gets worse and worse until a full-scale war begins, causing massive damage to both countries as well as destroying the lives of many innocent people. Thus the saying, "an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind," was born.
Though Israel is not specifically targeting civilians, Israel is killing them and that is making Hamas and the rest of the world more and more unhappy with them. It may be wise for Israel, a widely hated country, to discontinue its attacks on Hamas leaders, even if those attacks are completely justified.
Monday, November 19, 2012
3 Participials
Supporting the freedom of thought, I think that there are not many times when it is acceptable for one to turn to violence to "defend" their ideals. Some people, becoming angry with others, turn to violence rather than being content with being allowed to have their ideals and tolerating the ideals of others. When someone does turn to violence because of their lack of tolerance towards others, I believe they should be jailed, saving the lives of others.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Current Connection #3
Kwala Mandel, a writer for Yahoo! News, states in her article, "Heckler interrupts Romney rally in Virginia," that someone interrupted the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, to encourage action about the environment when Romney was speaking at a rally.
In the article, Kwala Mandel states, "Mitt Romney was interrupted at a rally Thursday in Virginia Beach, Va. A rowdy audience member took advantage of a pause during the Republican presidential nominee's speech and shouted 'climate change caused Sandy!'" The heckler interrupted Romney to try to encourage an emotional reaction from the crowd, and, at that, he was successful. He blamed the recent storm, Sandy, on climate change and, by extension, the U.S. government and people (at least in the crowds eyes).
Kwala Mandel also states, "He then flashed a sign that read 'End Climate Silence.' While Romney seemed to take the heckler in his stride, the crowd (and security) reacted much more strongly." The man's "End Climate Silence" sign was meant to encourage people to start talking about climate change, because climate change really has not been a big topic in this election, though it really probably should be. Romney did not seem to be bothered by the heckler, but the crowd on the other hand, was not pleased.
The article then states, "The man was booed and his sign was pulled away from him. As the heckler was led out of the event, the booing was layered with chants of 'U-S-A!'" The crowd did not react positively to the heckler's seemingly accusatory declaration about Sandy. They probably felt that he was blaming the U.S for the storm, and they felt that they were defending their country (and favorite presidential nominee) from the words of the heckler, an insulting nuisance.
This is yet another article that reminds me of events in the Middle East. The first time I watched the video, the way the crowd started chanting "U.S.A." and booing reminded me of videos I have seen of radicals in the Middle East chanting "Down with U.S.A" and booing. I understand why the crowd was chanting now, but the first time I saw the video, it really took me by surprise.
The heckler may have meant well with his message, but if he wanted a positive reaction (I don't think he did), then he was unwise to go to a presidential rally at this point in the race. Though he was booed out of the rally, he was successful in his mission to get people talking to some extent, as there are over 15,000 comments on the article.
In the article, Kwala Mandel states, "Mitt Romney was interrupted at a rally Thursday in Virginia Beach, Va. A rowdy audience member took advantage of a pause during the Republican presidential nominee's speech and shouted 'climate change caused Sandy!'" The heckler interrupted Romney to try to encourage an emotional reaction from the crowd, and, at that, he was successful. He blamed the recent storm, Sandy, on climate change and, by extension, the U.S. government and people (at least in the crowds eyes).
Kwala Mandel also states, "He then flashed a sign that read 'End Climate Silence.' While Romney seemed to take the heckler in his stride, the crowd (and security) reacted much more strongly." The man's "End Climate Silence" sign was meant to encourage people to start talking about climate change, because climate change really has not been a big topic in this election, though it really probably should be. Romney did not seem to be bothered by the heckler, but the crowd on the other hand, was not pleased.
The article then states, "The man was booed and his sign was pulled away from him. As the heckler was led out of the event, the booing was layered with chants of 'U-S-A!'" The crowd did not react positively to the heckler's seemingly accusatory declaration about Sandy. They probably felt that he was blaming the U.S for the storm, and they felt that they were defending their country (and favorite presidential nominee) from the words of the heckler, an insulting nuisance.
This is yet another article that reminds me of events in the Middle East. The first time I watched the video, the way the crowd started chanting "U.S.A." and booing reminded me of videos I have seen of radicals in the Middle East chanting "Down with U.S.A" and booing. I understand why the crowd was chanting now, but the first time I saw the video, it really took me by surprise.
The heckler may have meant well with his message, but if he wanted a positive reaction (I don't think he did), then he was unwise to go to a presidential rally at this point in the race. Though he was booed out of the rally, he was successful in his mission to get people talking to some extent, as there are over 15,000 comments on the article.
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