And On The Seventh Day, The Lazy Website Mostly Just Posted Links

1. I have been intensely enjoying Semitism.net, the website started by Andrew Schamess, a doctor in Western Massachusetts. (I learned of it via Juan Cole.) Here's some of the site's self-description:

What is Semitism.net? A view from the Jewish left... A main focus right now is the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and Jewish opposition to the occupation. An additional aim of Semitism.net is to help build bridges between the Jewish and Muslim communities. The site can host multiple blogs. I hope to feature posts from bloggers living in Israel and in the occupied territories, and from Arab and Jewish voices in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Yes, my kind of peoples.

I particularly liked a recent post about Juan Romagoza, a Salvadoran doctor (and Schamess' former boss) who started La Clinica del Pueblo in Washington, DC.

Schamess speaks of Romagoza running into a man on the street in Washington whom Romagoza knew from El Salvador -- because the man was part of the military squad that tortured him. Emily Post really has no pointers for this awkward situation. But apparently Romagoza "took him into the clinic, gave him work to do, and helped him get over the trauma of the war."

Schamess jumps off from this to provide these wise words:

Paulo Friere said that it is the task of the oppressed to liberate not only themselves, but also the oppressor. The oppressor is so entrapped by his own need to control everything, that he cannot see things for what they are, cannot speak the true words needed for liberation. I find this very true of dominant classes - we are obsessed with self-protection, insulating ourselves from injuries, intrusions and chance events. We consider this our prerogative, regardless of who pays the price. Our media and our politics consist of a monologue that justifies our dominance and largely drowns out divergent voices.

2. Some time ago I came across Lawrence of Cyberia, the site of a former translator and analyst for the British counterpart to the National Security Administration. (She now lives in Maryland with her family.) The site focuses mostly on one of her professional interests, the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Besides being damnably well-written, the LOC is beautifully designed. In this sense, IT MOCKS ME. But I am flattered indeed that this site appears on the LOC bl*groll.

You should go there now, although I fear I may lose you forever. In particular, don't miss "Why Haaretz is a Piece of Crap."

3. I want to believe that all leaders in every country are repellent sociopaths. This saves me valuable thinkin' time that I can then use to defeat the insect overlords of Halo 2. Unfortunately, there are occasional exceptions to my leader belief, and I resent this.

One such exception is Avraham Burg, former speaker of the Israeli Knesset. Via Lawrence of Cyberia I came across this interview with him. Of course, the fact he's become an exception is connected to the fact he's no longer the Knesset speaker:

"My attempt to seize the center and my refraining from going all the way to the end with my views made me a cosmetic candidate lacking true positions. So in the final analysis, the lesson I drew was that in such a difficult period, I have to speak my truth unvarnished. If there is no other choice, I prefer to lose over truths than to be elected for emptiness."