The Huge Irony

When some major world banks and global companies were at the brink of going under, the U.S. government pledged billions and billions of dollars (of taxpayers’ money) to help save some of them. I never thought it was the government’s responsibility in the first place to save companies and banks when they had clearly digged a hole for themselves. The bankers messed up big time and they wanted the government to save their asses. Meanwhile, governments around the world devised new economic stimulus plans to help pump money back into the economy. It was almost like an automatic response. I think the response was fast, and swift even, considering how much money was involved. Nobody can know for sure whether such moves are going to solve the problem, but I guess people think “Well, at least they are doing something. Instead of just sitting around doing nothing while seeing millions of people losing their livelihoods.” Because most people would agree that doing nothing while a major crisis is going on is not acceptable.

Another huge crisis is going in Gaza. The kind which involves hundred of lives lost, not billions of dollars and jobs. Israeli forces decided to papier mache’ Gaza with bombs. What is the response from governments around the world? Can we expect the same kind of swift, quick and almost automatic response like they ‘d given to the global financial crisis?

U.S government’s response so far:

The Bush administration, (…) put the onus on Hamas, who is in charge of Gaza, to prevent more violence. It did not demand an end to Israeli attacks but urged all concerned to protect innocent lives. (Reuters)

So Bush thinks continuous Israeli attacks and protecting innocent lives go very well together. To think Bush has a learning disorder….well, it’s hard to say. After all, he did received his MBA from Harvard and he did graduate from Yale. What the hell.

Obama will be sworn into office only on January 20th.

Obama’s team has avoided policy statements while George W. Bush is in power. Adviser David Axelrod said (…) on Sunday: “There’s only one president who can speak for America at a time. And that president now is George Bush.” (Reuters)

Between now and January 20th, what will happen? Are the Israelis buying time to attack Gaza while Bush is still holding the presidency?

Senior Israeli officials insist the timing had to do with Israel’s coming election rather than any perceived lost opportunity with Bush leaving office.

Another Israeli official said Israel could count on the Bush administration to help buy the military more time if the Gaza operation dragged on and international pressure grew for a cease-fire. (Reuters)

Wait, did he just say that they might have to stop the attacks if the international pressure grew for a cease-fire? Yes, he did. Israel is having an election on February 10. The attacks could be a political move by the current administration. You know that thing politicians like to do if that will make them popular, “Look we actually did something! We don’t really know what we’re doing but who cares”.

Meanwhile, a medical supplies boat ‘Dignity’ which was heading to Gaza early Tuesday had been strucked by Israeli patrol. The boat never made it to Gaza. It was carrying boxes of relief supplies, volunteers and journalists to Gaza.

The Dignity was carrying crew and 16 passengers — physicians from Britain, Germany and Cyprus and human rights activists, including former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney — who were trying to reach Gaza through an Israeli blockade of the territory.

“I would call it ramming. Let’s just call it as it is,” McKinney said. “Our boat was rammed three times, twice in the front and one on the side. Watch Cynthia McKinney discuss the collision »

“Our mission was a peaceful mission to deliver medical supplies and our mission was thwarted by the Israelis — the aggressiveness of the Israeli military,” she said.. (CNN)

What will happen to Gaza?

The Palestinian death toll has topped 375, Palestinian medical sources said Tuesday. At least 60 civilians have been killed in Gaza, U.N. officials said.

Hamas has vowed to defend Gaza in the face of what it calls continued Israeli aggression. Hamas has responded with volleys of rocket fire aimed at southern Israeli towns. (CNN)

So we have another crisis, a war, going into this new year. and I’m not seeing that quick, swift response that governments had given towards the global financial crisis. Governments would rather save bankers’ asses and jobs, which may help them stay in office, than save lives, fight for peace or speak up against a clear human aggression, not when it’s not a popular thing to do. If people think that whenever something horrible and despicable is going on in Palestine or anywhere else, that we can’t do anything about it, they are wrong. The world can do something about it. But the world chooses not to.