FWIW, I first started taking the Palestinian side after reading Theodore Dalrymple’s From the Holy Mountain.

Sorry for being unhelpfully provocative about bandwagons. Kathy’s probably right, because I admit to not actually following the media very closely. It’s probably partly because I’m already biased, so I only hear them when they say stuff I question. (Like how it “always rains at a picnic” — it doesn’t, but you only remember the times when it does.)

Still, when I hear or read stuff that makes me question, I’m asking, “How can they be so sure of that? Why does this seem awfully one-sided?” So Matt writes, then Rudy replies, and I’m thinking, “Hmmm, yes. There seem to be two very strong and very different perspectives on this. Who’s right?”

Perhaps I’m head-in-the-sand, but one reason I don’t fancy the interweb is because we hear about all these problems everywhere, and it appears at first that we can really understand and do something about them (other than write opinionated comments on a friend’s blog :-). Then it turns out we can’t, and we’re stuck with tons of terrible knowledge we can’t use.

It’s kind of amusing to suggest that all the media is pro Palestine when I keep hearing about terrorist this and terrorist that every hour on the hour.
It really does seem we all want democracy, so long as the elected party is the one we are feeling most comfortable with. It is hard for me to see how for instance MOSSAD is less of a bunch of murderous terrorists than anyone else.
I would like it to be true that everyone does what they believe is right ie: sit down and consider the implications of their work, who they work for, where the end product ends up etc, but I would say it’s more likely most people don’t have any strong belief they’re right as such, they just don’t think about it. We are all guilty of it one way or another. Sigh.

perhaps EDS believe they’re on the right side – the side that doesn’t have a bunch of murderous, thieving terrorists as government. The side with all the suicide bombs and money, and stuff they regularly steal from their own people – eg. emergency relief supplies etc.

You believe you’re right, they believe they’re right.

Peace, Rudy

Your analogy is ridiculous — EDS aren’t five stages away, they’re right there, and they’ve taken a side. The wrong side; the side with all the big guns and money.

Also, I’m annoyed at your implication that I’m riding on a bandwagon re. Israel/Palestine.