If the news only had a brain

How many of you are aware of why Isreal and the Arabs always fighting? I'll also admit that my knowledge of the origins of the conflict is rather sparce, all that I know is that ever since that I was young, that Isreal and the Arabs have always been in conflict.

I was poking aroung reddit just a while ago and came across this essay written by King Abdullah, the founder of Jordan in 1947. I am sure that many of you out there are following the current flaring of conflict (albeit war) occuring between Isreal and Lebanon as of this moment. War, like car accidents make for great news--something interesting to look at but you'd rather not be connected with.

This is one of the most interesting essays regarding the Isreali-Arab conflict especially since it dates about 60 years back and from the Arabic point of view which is so very unoften heard from. I was quite fascinated to fine such fine English, articulation and composition of thought which is something quite rare to find in common writing today. If you're reading this now, I suggest that you jump there and read it now. The essay is entitled "As the Arabs see the Jews."

I have noticed that it is always that Isreal is always portrayed as non-agressors when it comes to conflict. You read of stories of "Arab attacks" and then Isreal acting in "self-defence." Can you still call it self defence when 2 of your own people are taken captive and then you start making strategic attacks, then get attacked back and then go in for a full scale ground assult outside of your borders? If that was the case, Japan and North Korea should be at full scale war right now over a handful of captured citizens which were forced to train North Korean intelligence officers.

There is an incredible amount of white noise in the news, that it is almost not worth reading anymore. I have read so much, but so much is about nothing-- the news is incredibly thoughtless. If I were to make a bold prediction about the news, I will predict that the news as we know it will die in the next 20~30 years. Watch news parodies like The Daily Show and you will realize how ridiculus the news is, so ridiculus that it's comedy (John Stewart's impression of what's being said on the news about the Isreali-Lebanon conflict here). How can people take the news seriously?

I since moving out, I've never bothered to buy a TV. I did get one from friend when they left Japan and plugged it in for a little while but couldn't stand to watch anything for a period of time. There are better things to do instead of watching TV or reading "bad news."