Collateral Damage!

Since when does the willful killing of innocents become collateral damage?

The recent statements made by Israel after the Qana tragedy had me agape. Am I missing something here? How can you absolve yourself of the killing of 60 innocents, a third of who were children, simply because you warned them of your fatal attack by aerially distributing leaflets a day ahead of the bombing? What did Israel expect those Lebanese civilians to do, especially the economically underprivileged? Fleeing was not even an option given that the infra structure to do so has been inundated by unabated Israeli shelling in the past two weeks. Besides, these Lebanese were those left behind; striving just to keep alive in a location long abandoned by the rich and the privileged. They were virtually orphaned not just by virtue of the fact that they had lost their family during the attacks, but because the entire world, including elected humanitarian big wigs such as the UN, had abandoned them in this crisis. Without a national army to physically defend them, and deprived of any humanitarian aid, they became helpless victims of a faceless war. Faceless because there was no identifying the enemy! Is it the Hezbollah, labeled by the world as a terrorist organization, who has strategically woven themselves into the very fabric of the Lebanese society that now looks upon them as saviors? Or else is it Israel, their well-meaning neighbor that is only fighting the Hezbollah, and has no grudge against the Lebanese! The pathetic plight of these human shields, the Lebanese as of now, is a disgraceful and horrific consequence of a faceless war; the first of many our world will face in this era of terrorism initiated urban warfare.

Brokering for an Immediate Ceasefire?

I wouldn't hold my breath about Condoleeza Rice's current detour to Beirut. The Lebanese nightmare continues unabated while the world debates over vacuous issues such as the identity of Hezbollah, the veracity of the Israeli incursion, the apathetic neighbor status of Syria, and the insidious machinations of Iran.

The link below tells how ineffective a major part of the world is, and how a few countries wield all the power and determine a course of action for all of humanity! As an American I watch the Lebanese crisis with a sense of shame, and do little else other than watch news on TV and blog about the impotency of the world powers, both meaningless activities that will not make the slightest dent in the Lebanese situation. Which part of the world do you belong to, and are you doing your part?
http://www.kottke.org/06/07/independent-infographic

A Second Coming?

Wails from hearts distraught
as an innocent bites the dust.
In Gaza, Haifa, and Beirut,
how many more will hurt?
Who'll intervene to pause
this dying without a cause?

Shrouded in pain
and in tombs of despair;
Buried in arid alliances,
in empty stances and pretences;
Negligently negotiating peace
while coffined in dubious differences.

Surreptiously but surely
the voice of reason muted.
Gory graves of humanity
collaboratively created.
Before that knell is rung
and innocence is hung,
gravediggers are invited!

A Meandering Mind

"Cogito, Ergo Sum".

If not me, who’d I be?

A benign butterfly?
Midst color ‘n fragrance
And enveloped in peace;
steering clear of populated places
gliding a lazy summer breeze.
Beauty’d be my abode
‘n leisure my occupation;
seeking little, not wanting to please.

Perhaps a congruous kite.
Etching mindless circles
Gradually varying in size;
viewing a world I want to see.
Carried by the current
in apparent harmony.
High in the azure sky
A busy world defy.

Possibly a passive pine.
Bending now and again
In snow gust and rain.
Standing green and tall
when all is well.
No pressure to blossom,
no colors to flaunt;
I am, and there’s nothing I want.

I suppose a soundless shadow.
Not clearly defined;
coz I cease to be
when the lights not on me.
Have only to follow
or fall as a copy;
no need for an identity
You could as well be me.

"Je pense, donc je suis".