Don’t Mess With Israel (Part 2 of 2)

The Storm Rages

In Oregon it rains a lot. That may sound like an obvious statement. Bears crap in the woods, okay we can agree on this. The Pope wears a silly hat. But you are missing the undercurrent of obviousness. In Oregon it RAINS A LOT kay? Now with this in mind in my home town of Salem the average rainfall per year is 60 inches. When spread out over two hundred days of overcast weather this is not a big deal. But in one 24 hour period 11 inches seems biblical. Take for example the Lees Camp weather station that recorded 14.5 inches of rain on December the 3^rd. Just down the road we have Vernonia with 11 inches of rain on December 3rd. This was enough to place the town of Vernonia twelve feet under water, and thus we saw the dramatic rescue of the townsfolk from their roofs that night.

Lincoln City recorded record winds; 125 mph winds literally blew power gauges off the houses of local residents. Bay City near Tillamook experienced 129 mph winds. Oregon suffers a plague called radical environmentalism, under this scourge our timber industry is prevented from cutting down deadwood, cleaning underbrush or performing simple forestry in so called “protected lands” this leads to conditions every summer where a large portion the state catches on fire, it is so bad that the National Guard’s operation plan for civil support is called Op Plan Smokey. The 100 mph plus winds caused absolute havoc throughout the state. Oregon has damage to 350 million board feet of timber and is scrambling to find foreign markets to buy our wood. Even if we can clear it and sell it, the rail road supplying the Port of Tillamook was destroyed by a large bolus of floating forest debris during the flood. There is no practical way to load the lumber on to ship. The final cost of the storm is estimated to be $250 million. Of course this is nothing compared to the human loss of six lives.

December 3^rd Politically

Secretary Rice was the opening speaker for the US-Palestinian Public-Private Partnership Promoting Economic and Educational Opportunities for the Palestinian People. USPPPPEEOPP? Rice said “Most Israelis now believe that a responsible Palestinian state is in the national interest of Israel.” Oh really? I guess she doesn’t read the op-ed portion of Haaretz. No one in the Likkud party is espousing a Palestinian state and very few in Labor seem all that interested. “Israel must meet its obligation to ensure that a Palestinian state will be viable and independent” she continued.

Winds of Change

While the winds of change were blowing in D.C. and Secretary Rice was hob knobbing with Palestinian sympathizers; the winds of destruction were blowing in Oregon. You may disagree with my assertion that this was a judgment from God on the US. So let us fast forward a week or two. While Secretary Rice was in France on Monday 17 December, she pledged almost a billion dollars of US taxpayer dollars to the Palestinian government. At the same time a snow storm was hitting the central United States, it claimed nine lives. Every time Rice places pressure on the Israelis to accept a Palestinian State, and a divided Jerusalem; we get record weather and 92,000 without power… maybe we should stop.

After all it is a great new theory on global “climate change” mess with Israel and God messes with your weather. I know it sounds real “Olde Testament” but that’s the way it looks. When the Great Willamette Flood of 1996 hit on February 9^th 1996 the Clinton administration was pushing Benjamin Netanyahu to relinquish the Golan Heights to Syria. That was the same weather system that ravaged the Southern portion of the United States with twenty two tornados. Coincidence? Maybe. This was the same month the US State Department was pressuring Israel to expel illegal Jewish aliens so Palestinians could get jobs in Israel. The US wanted Israel to expel 60,000 foreign nationals specifically to employ Palestinian refugees.

The Bible? Do we still read that thing?

In a day when the President keeps a Koran in the Oval Office and states that Christians and Muslims pray to the same god cultural obfuscation is the opiate of the masses. The powers that be will say anything to keep American Christians from re-claiming political assertiveness. So I leave you with this.

Zec 12:2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah [and] against Jerusalem.

Isa 59:18-21 According to [their] deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. As for me, this [is] my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that [is] upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.

References

http://www.oregonlive.com/argus/stories/index.ssf?/base/columnist/1197049966146080.xml&coll=6

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/stories/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1197582904185300.xml&coll=7

www.watch.org

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1207/freund121307.php3?printer_friendly

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2007/12/96142.htm

Aluf Benn (2007) What’s the Hurry? Hareetz dated 27/12/2007

http://migration.ucdavis.edu/MN/comments.php?id=1041_0_5_0

Sciolino Elaine (18 Dec 2007) $7.4 Billion Pledged for Palestinians, The New York Times

Don’t Mess With Israel (Part 1 of 2)

The Oregon Flood Dec 2007

I stood up groggily and stretched, wincing with pain as my back reminded me I wasn’t a young grunt anymore. The chair of the audio-visual station was extremely uncomfortable, especially after six hours. Taking a long swig of the cold congealed coffee in my paper cup, I got the urge for another stimulant. So I sauntered over to my usual desk while trying to ignore the officer’s briefing going on in the front of the room. As I fumbled around for a pack of cigarettes in my top desk drawer I saw my calendar. The date said December 3^rd. “Tell Anna ‘I told you so.’” was the cryptic note I had written myself. I was almost in shock, but then the logic of it fit neatly. On November 5th I had made a prediction to Anna. “We’ll be busy on December the third.” I had said. “How can you know that?” was the expected reply. “Listen, this guy has a theory…”

US Anti-Semitism

Why do we mess with Israel? What makes us think we can alter God’s plan or help it along? Are we ignorant or arrogant beyond all belief? I am talking about the Annapolis conference of course. Annapolis was President George Bush’s latest attempt to craft a legacy from the Middle East, an abysmal failure of course. Perhaps a better executed event than Clinton’s Camp David shenanigans. When we look at the history of the failed Annapolis proceedings we see blatant anti-Semitism and a disregard for Israeli sovereignty. We see Condoleezza Rice and her shocking statements identifying with the Palestinians. Quoted by the Washington Post Rice said “I know what it is like to hear you cannot go on a road or through a checkpoint because you are Palestinian, I understand the feeling of humiliation and powerlessness…” Wow, I am not sure how to be insulted. Should Israelis be insulted on the basis that Rice portrays them as bigots and racist, or should Americans be insulted by Rice comments that being black in white America is like being oppressed under the Palestinian authority? I give Rice credit for pissing everyone off at once. Even the Palestinian press did not like be equated to “listless African Americans.”- Al Jazeera The NAACP balked at being compared to Palestinians. I guess being a black female Secretary of State qualifies you to commiserate about American inequality and oppression.

Incur God’s wrath?

The point being William Koenig has a theory and I think people should pay attention, after all our very survival may be hanging in the balance. Koenig states that US disasters are directly linked to US involvement with Israel, specifically US pressure on Israel to release land to the Palestinians. It is a fascinating theory by any measure, one that can be historically evaluated. Go to www.watch.org for more details.

The Perfect Storm:

Based on data given by Koenig and altering the parameters slightly, I evaluated the forlorn Annapolis conference and made my prediction. I was not very sure about the variables, and it was early November, so I did not feel very precise about time, place or what. December 3^rd was my prediction. What would it be a terrorist attack or an industrial accident, maybe a severe storm? “December 3^rd Anna, were going to be busy.” We were very busy indeed.

“It started as a glint in a weatherperson's eye. As a full-grown storm, it stretched from below the International Dateline to Idaho, dumped a couple of feet of rain and zipped winds past 125 miles per hour before the power went down and the gauges blew off their stands.” – Clark Gallagher, The Oregonian

It was indeed a monster. Six people lost their lives, and we are still counting the cost. FEMA will probably write us a check for a quarter of a billion dollars. Isn’t that real money to someone anymore? Did you notice down there, you people in New Orleans? The people who came and helped you out in 2005 just had the same thing happen to them. No one batted an eye, where is the outrage at President Bush’s abject silence? Thousands were displaced and a town was wiped off of the map. Don’t worry, Oregon is tough.

That’s where we entered in. I work for the National Guard in the Emergency Operations Center. I will not glorify myself in this. I do offer the following on behalf of my stalwart coworkers.

“If there's any doubt about how effectively the state of Oregon responded to early December's storms, listen to Tony Hyde of Vernonia. ‘This was a textbook example of how to perform in a disaster,’ he says. ‘The governor and his team were superb.’” – The Oregonian

“Most dramatically of all, the Oregon National Guard raced to Vernonia, where the 125th Special Tactics Squadron rescued scores of flood victims in a dangerous, dead-of-night operation.” – The Oregonian

I am a registered Republican, but I have to tell you, Gov. Kulingoski will have my vote in the future. Good leadership is good leadership, even if you can’t stand the man’s stance on social issues. (That’s why we have a congress and senate) The hard work and determination I saw not just from the Oregon Guard, but from the entire State government was a testament to competency throughout the state. Every Oregon employee in this situation deserves high praise.

Next week: Part 2

References (see completed references at end of part 2)

http://www.oregonlive.com/argus/stories/index.ssf?/base/columnist/1197049966146080.xml&coll=6

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/stories/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1197582904185300.xml&coll=7

www.watch.org

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1207/freund121307.php3?printer_friendly

Soldiers and Suicide

Everybody asks why…

What can a person say when confronted with great tragedy? We always want to find meaning in death or any kind of loss. What if there are no answers? What if nothing you can say or think will take away the shock, anger or pain? Human relationships are never perfect. There is always something you wish you had not said. There is always a feeling of guilt after someone dies. Why wasn’t I there? Why did I treat him / her that way? I wish I could communicate how I feel. I wish I could kick your ass, I wish I could give you a hug. Why did you leave me here to ask why?

Suicide is the worst of these tragedies. The survivors suffer terribly. In most tragic deaths we can find some sort of meaning. When a colleague or friend is murdered we can console ourselves that the perpetrator is dead themselves, or is facing judgment. If a fellow Soldier dies in combat we can say: ah, this was an honorable death, in the line of duty. These things do not make the grieving easier, but it makes facing the grief easier. Also, we do not feel the self blame we do when a friend commits suicide.

Numbers

Why do Soldiers commit suicide? According to USA Today, Soldier suicides were 17 incidents per 100,000 in 2003(Zoroya 2003.) According to the Centers for Disease Control this is roughly 7 more per 100,000 than the general population. That may seem insignificant, but it is very alarming considering the relative small size of the military community. Suicide is a significant cause of death in the United States, it ranks as number eleven. From 1980 to 1995 there were eighty total deaths from lightning strikes in the U.S, during that period there were roughly eighty deaths per day from suicide. Forty percent more people die from suicide than homicide.

Stressors

Why do Soldiers commit suicide? The suicide rate for the Army is consistent for deployed and non-deployed Soldiers. Suicide occurs in training battalions, and in home station. Enlisted Soldiers commit suicide the most, officers and warrant officers the least. The amount of time in service seems irrelevant. Regular Army, National Guard and Reserves have the same suicide rate. Married Soldiers commit suicide less than single Soldiers.

The life of a Soldier is the life of stress management, and we do not always do well. Many have seen combat in the last several years, those who haven’t are likely to. Some Soldiers work in very stressful offices. Others work in stressful field conditions. No matter what conditions Soldiers work in, the life of the Soldier is summed up in one statement: long periods of boredom followed by brief moments of sheer terror. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is endemic, as are mood disorders and physical ailments. Over six percent of the National Guard is medically non-deployable on any given day. (GAO-06-105) Army members and National Guard simply take poor care of themselves.

Physically demanding, emotionally and spiritually draining, not always fulfilling, the life of a Soldier is a difficult one. Compound this lifestyle with a pre-existing mood disorder or impulse control disorder and you have a recipe for disaster.

We do not study suicide much scientifically; there have been five U.S. studies in the last fifty years. Everyone tries to prevent suicide on a case by case basis, but as a policy we tend to ignore it. Therapists tend to error on the side of caution, but laymen rarely catch on with co-workers or family. Everyone gets caught off guard by suicide; no one really sees it coming. More people die of suicide than AIDS, but precious few research dollars go to this blight.

Stigmata

Suicide bears a universal stigma; it seems that we as a species disrespect those who violate their own instinct for survival. Dishonor and shame are the feelings most associated with a suicidal death. Sometimes people rationalize that it is better to lie about a family members suicide than to tell the truth.

In the early fifth century the Catholic Church and many civil authorities were struggling with a group of religious zealots called the Donatists. These men believed that by either killing themselves or forcing someone else to kill them they could go to heaven with Christ. The problem got so bad both the Church and the civil authorities passed laws against suicide, denying Christian burial to anyone who took their own life.

Whatever the rationale or circumstances surround a suicidal death, we need to be cognizant of the needs and the feelings of the families affected. Anything less is a dereliction of duty. To the religious out there I would strongly caution against any kind of statement of dogma, which may color the families perception of the deceased. That is not your duty. Just be there for the bereaved.

In the end

I have no idea why Soldiers or anyone else commit suicide. All I know for a fact is the effect is painful and far reaching. There do seem to be factors in common with many suicidal deaths. It would appear that first of all, a person must develop a terrifying pain threshold. The borderline patient or the person with mood disorders has to work up several self destructive attempts before a lethal one can be made. These “calls for help” should be heeded. (Joiner 2005) If you notice someone regularly drinking themselves into a stupor this can be a buildup of this sort. The most striking commonality is the perceived sense the suicidal have that they no longer belong, that they have become ineffective. A loss of perceived worthiness or a distancing from friends and family is especially troubling. This may be why divorce or job loss often precipitates suicide attempts. I guess the overall point I am trying to make is that there may be a disease process in play that subrogates blame from the suicidal patient to the family mezzo system or the macro-systems in play. This does not mean that any one individual should shoulder the burden of blame; this means that suicide is a human disease, and a tragedy of perplexing proportions. I really cannot express this opinion in any less technical terms.

Biblical Understanding

The pulpits have been either silent or judgmental when addressing this issue. The modern church should be ashamed of the lack of preaching or bible study related to this subject. The Bible records six suicides that I can find. I will concentrate on three.

Judas Iscariot a gentile by the way, have you ever known ancient Jews to have surnames? Judas killed himself out of guilt after betraying the Lord. One question; if he had not, would the Lord not have forgiven him just as he did Peter?

King Saul fell on his own sword rather than let the Philistines take him. David and the house of Israel wept bitterly for Saul, gave him a kingly hero’s burial. I see no condemnation of Saul for his suicide in itself.

Samson the judge pushed the pillars down on the Philistines, in so doing he effectively committed suicide. I will rest my case of the judgment of Samson on Hebrews chapter eleven.

The scripture I would like to use to comfort any believer whose family member committed suicide is Romans 8:38-39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (KJV) It is obvious to me to note a few things. First off suicide is as prevalent within the church as it is in the general population. Next would be that if neither death nor any living creature can separate us from the love of God, then neither can we by killing ourselves.

Having said that, and reiterating that you will not go to hell for committing suicide, I do need to say this. Suicide is self murder, and a sin against God. You will be held to account for the pain and suffering you cause the Lord and your family. There is no reason why you should not seek help and counseling. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit 1Corinthians 6:19 “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (KJV) Also, you were creating in the image of God. (Genesis 1:26) Therefore you have a dignity derived from Yahshua and it cannot be taken lightly. Your life is sacred just like other life around you. From the dispensation of government we derive the fact that suicide is a criminal act, see Genesis 9:5.

Chasidic traditions teach that every soul was created with a specific mission here on Earth, in general to bring light into the darkness. Suicide circumvents your mission on Earth and since your time has not come, and your soul has no body to go back to, you may end up in limbo. I am not sure I subscribe to this theology except to say that in Orthodox Judaism suicide is specifically prohibited.

Finally

You never know what you have until it is gone. This is most obvious with death. Two people I know who were killed both left me sad and mortified by their departure. One took his own life, and the other, she was murdered. I was really not aware of how much of an impact either of these people had on my life until they were gone. Had the man who committed suicide only known, what an impact he had on others, how sorry we would be to see him go…

I do not think he would have done it.

This entry is dedicated to Robert.

References

Simmons, Shraga (n. d.) Burying a Suicide, Ask The Rabbi, reprinted from http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_o/bl_simmons_burysuicide.htm

Joiner, Thomas (2005) Why People Die by Suicide, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press

Zoroya, Gregg (2003) Army Probes Soldier Suicides, Reprinted from USA Today

Dobson, James (2001) Talking to Kids About Suicide, http://listen.family.org/askdrbill/A000000325.cfm

Phipps, William (1985) Christian Perspectives on Suicide, http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1924

Understanding Suicide www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/Suicide%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf