Liberty Maven

As George Bush’s recent comment reveals the usual lack of brain activity in our highest officials, can Austrian economics shed any more light on the Middle East conflict, Rachel Corrie’s death, and even the Shministim?

by Jake, the Champion of the Constitution
Originally published Saturday, January 3, 2009 at http://www.nolanchart.com/article5742.html

In Part 1, I related the story of the Israeli shministim, who are young imprisoned conscientious objectors. In Part 2, I shared the story of Rachel Corrie, an American college student who traveled to Gaza in 2003 and died after two months of serving as a human shield. She was brutally killed by an Israeli Defense Force military bulldozer, which was trying to demolish a Palestinian’s home behind her. This article will utilize a seemingly small detail, which was that the driver of the bulldozer was a Russian immigrant. (photo source BBSNews File Photos. Used With Permission)

As we look at the Israeli-Palestinian situation, let’s hear another winner of a message from America’s insufferable George Bush, before he is replaced by the next insufferable tyrant Barack Obama, who, as I demonstrated in Part 1, supports the military conscription and slavery of our nation’s youth. In CNN’s article “Bush Blames Hamas for Gaza Conflict:”

“Since Hamas’ violent takeover in the summer of 2007, living conditions have worsened for Palestinians in Gaza. By spending its resources on rocket launchers instead of roads and schools, Hamas has demonstrated that it has no intention of serving the Palestinian people.”

George is trying to be a smart Keynesian economist here!  Rocket launchers for roads and schools!  Ha!  Sounds like the American economic plan for Afghanistan and Iraq which we have so wonderfully executed over the past seven years! One here is that of Hazlitt’s “broken window” from Economics in One Lesson. Back to the IDF bulldozer example.  Although the state of Israel most likely plans to eventually erect a new house for Jewish settlers, the personal wealth of the Palestinians is unquestionably destroyed during the bulldozing. Our Russian immigrant and the entire IDF are engaged in the destruction of wealth. Indeed, so are the Hamas insurgents. All of their labor and collective energies, instead of being focused on creating wealth, jobs, crops, et cetera, is spent on ripping it apart.  (photo from Mises Institute)

Every shekel the Israelis spend on their military, the gas for the bulldozer, ammunition, and their bombs are shekels that they cannot use in their economy to increase their living standards. Same deal, coldly economically-speaking with Rachel Corrie and all of the organizations engaged in supporting the Palestinians. Same deal with the shministim, the Israeli conscientous objectors, but in their case the state must also provide food and lodging from the rest of the nation while they are imprisoned.  All goods and purchasing power spent on this effort are goods and purchasing power that will not be spent improving the living standards and wealth of the aid-givers.

Besides being woefully ignorant of history, George is committing another error that Henry Hazlitt warned about so many years ago. Bush merely pushes the easily “seen” weaponry of Hamas and lack of development in Gaza in our faces and insinuates the two are cause and effect; that the lack of development in Gaza is caused by the decision of the Palestinians to invest in primitive armaments.  But what Bush misses most is all of the “unseen” factors. The prime factor, of course, is the Israeli government’s economic suppression of the Palestinians starting well before 2007. In fact, if you study the death tolls caused by both military acts and economic suppression over the past 20 years and longer, it is a wonder that the Palestinians continue to exist.  He also fails to mention that America provides much of the high-tech weaponry Israel employs, so indeed WE are providing “rockets not schools” to the Israelis as well.

Let us now return to our Russian immigrant IDF bulldozer driver and a short lesson in Middle East history and demographics from Naomi Klein’s 2007 The Shock Doctrine (pp. 542-548):

“The last time there was a credible prospect of peace breaking out in the Middle East was the early nineties, a time when the powerful constituency of Israelis believed that continued conflict was no longer an option. Communism had collapsed, the information revolution was beginning, and there was a widespread conviction inside Israel’s business community that the bloody occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, compounded by the boycott of Israel by Arab states, was putting Israel’s economic future in peril. Seeing the explosion of “emerging markets” around the world, Israeli corporations were tired of being held back by war; they wanted to be part of the high-profit borderless world, not penned in by regional strife. If the Israeli government could negotiate some sort of peace agreement with the Palestinians, Israel’s neighbors would have to lift their boycotts, and the country would be perfectly positioned to be the Middle East’s free-trade hub.

“In 1993, Dan Gillerman, then president of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, was a local proponent of this position. “Israel could become just another state or, it could become the strategic, logistic and marketing center of the whole region like a Middle Eastern Singapore or Hong Kong where multinational companies base their head offices… We are talking about an utterly different economy… Israel must act and fast to adjust or this once in a lifetime economic opportunity will be missed only for us to say: we could have.’”

Most people are familiar with the famous Oslo Accords photograph on the White House lawn of Clinton, Arafat, and Rabin on September 13, 1993. However, the Oslo Accords handshake did not mean much; it was just an agreement to start peace talks, which failed since Arafat declined several truly pitiful Israeli offers at Camp David in 2000 and Taba in 2001. The second intifada of 2000, and 9/11 which “changed everything,” combined with an Israeli economic surge resulted in any chance for peace being relegated to the trash bin. Since 9/11, Israel has been bent on Palestinian surrender, not peace. Well, I recommend reading Klein and others for the full reasons, but the critical reason, I feel, comes back to our Russian immigrant and demographics.

• Historically speaking, in 1800 there were 5,000 Jews and 250,000 Arabs in Palestine, or 2% Jewish.
• In 1917, there were 50,000 Jews and 610,000 Arabs, or 7% Jewish.
• In 1935, there were 320,000 Jews, and roughly 960,000 Arabs, or 25% Jewish.
• In 1948, there were 650,000 Jews. (Above all per Andelman, p. 107)
• In 2004, per Wiki there were 5,435,900 Jews and 1,375,600 Arabs, or 76% Jewish. So the number of Jews multiplied by a factor of 8 since 1948, while the Arab number has not appreciably increased in over 73 years! Of course, most of this has been due to massive Arab emigration out of the country from all the Arab-Israeli wars.

However, as Israeli group peacenow.org has documented, between 1990 and 2000, over 900,000 immigrants arrived, stimulating a very high population growth rate increase. “At the end of 2004, the total Israeli population was 6,869,500. Of this total, 1,010,900 were people who immigrated to Israel after 1990 the overwhelming majority of whom came from the [former Soviet Union]. These immigrants thus represent, in 2004 numbers, just under 15% of the total Israeli population.”

This immigration surge of Soviet Jew started due to the 1990 break-up of the Soviet Union. When Boris Yeltsin sent in the tanks to set fire to the Russian parliament in 1993, at the same time as the Oslo Accords were made, the economic Chicago School “shock treatment” resulted in even more Soviet Jews moving to Israel. Let’s return to Klein:

“It’s hard to overstate the impact of such a large and rapid population transfer to a country as small as Israel. Proportionally, it would be the equivalent of every person in Angola, Cambodia, and Peru packing their bags and moving to the United States all at once. In Europe, it would be the equivalent to all of Greece moving to France…

“This demographic transformation upended the agreement’s already precarious dynamic. Before the arrival of the Soviet refugees, Israel could not have severed itself for any length of time from the Palestinian populations in Gaza and the West Bank; its economy could no more survive without Palestinian labor than California could run without Mexicans. Roughly 150,000 Palestinians left their homes every day and traveled to Israel to clean streets and build roads, while Palestinian farmers and tradespeople filled trucks with goods and sold them in Israel and in other parts of the territories. Each side depended on the other economically, and Israel took aggressive measures to prevent the Palestinian territories from developing autonomous trade relationships with Arab states.

“Then, just as Oslo came into effect, that deeply interdependent relationship was abruptly severed. Unlike Palestinian workers, whose presence in Israel challenged the Zionist project by making demands on the Israeli state for restitution of stolen land and for equal citizenship rights, the hundreds of thousands of Russians who came to Israel at this juncture had the opposite effect. They bolstered Zionist goals by markedly increasing the ration of Jews to Arabs, while simultaneously providing a cheap pool of labor. Suddenly, Tel Aviv had the power to launch a new era in Palestinian relations. On March 30, 1993, Israel began its policy of “closure,” sealing off the border between Israel and the occupied territories, often for days or weeks at a time, preventing Palestinians from getting to their jobs and selling their goods. Closure began as a temporary measure, ostensibly as an emergency response to the threat of terrorism. It quickly became the new status quo, with territories sealed off not just from Israel but from each other, policed through an ever more elaborate and demeaning system of checkpoints.

“Nineteen ninety-three had been held up as the dawn of a new hopeful era; instead, it was the year that the occupied territories were transformed from run-down dormitories housing the underclass of the Israeli state into suffocating prisons. In the same period, between 1993 and 2000, the Israeli settlers living in the occupied territories doubled their numbers. What had been in many places rough-hewn settler outposts were transformed into lush, fortified suburbs with their own restricted-access roads, clearly designed to be an addition to the Israeli state…  The Israeli group Peace Now estimates that about twenty-five thousand Israeli citizens living in illegal settlements fall into this category, and it also notes that many Russians made the move “without a clear understanding of where they were going.”  (photo courtesy Mariusz Kubik)

So you see, Rachel Corrie in 2003 and the Palestinians today are literally being crushed by a demographics wave, which started as the direct result of “shock doctrine” economic policies abetted by the Military-Industrial Empire of the United States. From all I have read and studied, I would have to say this is a very fair statement for me to make.  For throughout history, demographics waves move like tsunamis, and are unstoppable once they start.  Baby boomers, anyone?

Well, in 17 days, George Bush will leave and there will be a bright new dawn. The rising “O” logo of Obama right?

• “Defense cooperation between the United States and Israel is a model of success, and must be deepened. As president, I will implement a Memorandum of Understanding that provides $30 billion in assistance to Israel over the next decade – investments to Israel’s security that will not be tied to any other nation. Going forward, we can enhance our cooperation on missile defense. We should export military equipment to our ally Israel under the same guidelines as NATO.” – Barack Obama to the AIPAC Israel lobby, June 4, 2008 (Photo link)
• “Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe in working towards a two-state solution, with both states living side by side in peace and security. To that end, Senators Obama and Biden are cosponsors of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006.” (barackobama.com) So, why is there no Israeli Anti-Terrorism Act?
• “In January, 2008, Senator Obama sent a letter to our United Nations Representative urging that any resolution concerning the situation in Gaza should “clearly and unequivocally condemn the rocket attacks against Israel, and should make clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against such actions.” (barackobama.com)  What about “clearly and unequivocally condemn the IDF use of lethal force on fairly defensive civilian populations?
• “Barack Obama and Joe Biden strongly support the US-Israel relationship, a bond that is mutually beneficial to each country as we share common values, histories, and a dedication to democracy. They believe that our first and incontrovertible commitment in the Middle East must be to the security of Israel, America’s strongest ally in the Middle East.” (barackobama.com)  What about Iraq, do we not have a top priority there? Where in the Constitution does it say we must commit to the national security of Israel? They are armed to the teeth and quite possibly the world’s third most powerful nuclear power. I think they will be OK.
• “Those who threaten Israel threaten us. Israel has always faced these threats on the front lines. And I will bring to the White House an unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security…  I will ensure that Israel can defend itself from any threat – from Gaza to Tehran.” Barack Obama to the AIPAC Israel lobby, June 4, 2008.  So, it’s “with-us-or-against-us” just like George, eh?

That Rachel Corrie did not die in vain.

That freedom will not disappear under the oppressive heel of  the Obama-Bush socialist regime.

For the Republic and the Constitution, I am,

Jake, the Champion of the Constitution                [Reach the Author Here!]

www.CampaignForLiberty.com

www.YALiberty.org

endthefedusa.ning.com

___________________________________________________________________________

The Death of Rachel Corrie Source List

• Interview in Rafah with Rachel Corrie, March 14, 2003, 2 days before her death.  I recommend starting with this one.
• MotherJones.com – It is my humble opinion that this is the most objective article on Rachel’s death from September 2003
• Photos from the day of her death
• List of news reports and editorials from RachelCorrie.org
• IsraelNationalNews.com – a pro-settler-and-Israeli-nationalist version from 2004
• Wiki – for any who treat Wiki as the gospel truth, be careful.
• CNN’s initial report on March 25. 2003.  Note the week delay.
• Seattle Times’ initial report on March 17, 2003
• ISM footage of an IDF armored personnel carrier gassing those attending Rachel’s memorial service.  I am not big on the music, but this does demonstrate ISM’s radical form of activism.
• Dahlia Wasfi’s presentation on Rachel, March 2008 and latest statement on the Gaza situation on December 31, 2008

Other References

• Carter, Jimmy. 2006.  Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. Carter outlines the UN perspective, for better or worse.
• Wasfi, Dahlia. 2007.  “A Short History of the Republic of Iraq.”  Article.  2007 Video of testimony to Congress.
• Andelman, David A. A Shattered Peace: Versailles and the Price We Pay Today.  2008.  The chapter on Israel.
• Hazlitt, Henry.  1946. Economics in One Lesson. Timeless!
• Klein, Naomi. “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.” 2007.  A well-researched and damning critique of Friedman’s Chicago School from a progressive/socialist perspective.  I don’t agree with the conclusions but the research and insights are amazing.
• “The Israeli Lobby.” Documentary.

Israeli Conscientious Objectors – The Shministim (The Gaza Slaughter PART 1/6)
Published: January 1, 2009
This series is dedicated to your self-respect. Modern slavery still exists. Just look at Israel – prisons inside and outside Gaza. America, is this what you really want?

Israel Military Bulldozes & Kills American Protester in Gaza (The Gaza Slaughter 2/6)
Published: January 3, 2009
More news you do not hear too much about – the story of Rachel Corrie. Comments are even more welcome than usual!

Israel Military Kills American Protester – An Economic Perspective (The Gaza Slaughter 3/6)
Published: January 3, 2009
As George Bush’s recent comment reveals the usual lack of brain activity in our highest officials, can Austrian economics shed any more light on the Middle East conflict, Rachel Corrie’s death, and even the Shministim?

Cynthia McKinney and the Israeli Attacks on the Dignity and USS Liberty (The Gaza Slaughter 4/6)
Published: January 4, 2009
The recent episode of Cynthia McKinney’s defenseless ship getting rammed by the Israeli Navy reminds me of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty some forty years ago. The story of the men on board the USS Liberty is one that every American should be fully aware of when discussing the Middle East and Israel. And who are the real heroes?

Ron Paul and I Stand Alone on Gaza and Israel (The Gaza Slaughter 5/6)
Published: January 4, 2009
Although outvoted last year in the House by a vote of 404-1 on the Gaza situation, Ron Paul declared America’s tacit blessing for other nations to start violence preemptive wars as intolerable. I agreed in an article on Kosovo where our embassy was attacked. But did you know some Israeli IDF soldiers agree with us?

___________________________________________________________________________

Actual Conversation between a close friend and I

A Close Friend: “I voted for Obama in the election.”

Me: “WHAT?  I told you all about him!  You agreed with me he was up to no good!”

Friend: “I thought you said Obama was ‘Change I Could Believe In’!”

Me:  “WHAT?  NO! I said “CHAINS YOU CAN BELIEVE IN“!!!”

___________________________________________________________________________

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

As always, unlike the NFL, the author grants full permission to allow any accounts of, rebroadcasts, retransmissions, repostings in part or full of this article to your blog or anywhere else in order to promote the Restoration of our Republic.

Veritas numquam perit. Veritas odit moras. Veritas vincit. Truth never perishes. Truth hates delay. Truth conquers.

Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito. Do not give in to evil but proceed ever more boldly against it.

“In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated, and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.” – Mark Twain.  I think he meant “scarce woman” here too.

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable.” -  JFK

“You have to let go all the madness you carry.” – Shinedown, “Crying Out”

___________________________________________________________________________

Nolan Chart Facebook Group Page Created

Summary of Articles and Bibliography for Jake, the Champion of the Constitution (1/1/2009)

New source list inside!

___________________________________________________________________________

Other Recommended Articles by the Author

A Salute to Malalai Joya – Afghanistan’s Tom Paine
Published: August 8, 2008
Malalai Joya, a brave lady and banned legislator from Afghanistan, fights for justice, human rights, and democracy. She battles both the Warlords in power, the Taliban… and the American Government, which is probably why you have never heard of her.

Response to Disgruntled Reader on “Malalai Joya” Article
Published: August 11, 2008
The pain and psychological shock trauma of 9/11 and the War on Terror continues. When will the shock wear off?

Bernanke’s Great Lie – The “Gold Standard” and the Great Depression (PART 2/2)
Published: December 25, 2008
The claim that the “gold standard” caused or worsened the Great Depression debunked.

Rioting at the Gates of Thermopylae: The Ramparts of the FED & Central Banks Shudder
Published: December 14, 2008
M1 hits 37% growth!! “Most of the significant American banks, the larger banks, are bankrupt, totally bankrupt.” – Jim Rogers, 12/11/2008

The Money Matrix – How the FED Works (PART 6/15)
Published: November 17, 2008
A step-by-step explanation of how the Federal Reserve, America’s Central Bank, can manipulate monetary policy.