From Gaza, with Love

I was just reading some stuff on http://fromgaza. blogspot. com/, and it got me thinking. I did a bit of research on U.S. – Israel relations.

“About 1,300 Palestinians, at least 700 of them civilians, were killed during the 22-day offensive, while Israel put its death toll at 10 soldiers and three civilians. “

Source: http://www. reuters. com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUSLP674710

“17% of all U.S. foreign aid is earmarked for Israel. In fact, Israel is so devoted to U.S. military hardware that it has the world’s largest fleet of F-16s outside the U.S., currently possessing more than 200 jets. Another 102 F-16s are on order from Lockheed Martin. Israel is one of the United State’s largest arms importers. In the last decade, the United States has sold Israel $7.2 billion in weaponry and military equipment.

The U.S. also gives Israel weapons and ammunition as part of the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program, providing these articles completely free of charge. Between 1994-2001 the U.S. provided many weapons through this program, including:

* 64,744 M-16A1 rifles

* 2,469 M-204 grenade launchers

* 1,500 M-2 . 50 caliber machine guns

* .30 caliber, . 50 caliber, and 20mm ammunition”

Source: http://www. worldpolicy. org/projects/arms/reports/israel050602. html

Also worth reading is http://www. commondreams. org/views02/0509-07. htm.

I don’t like that the American media portrays the U.S. as innocent bystanders. I’m not taking sides, but there has to be a better solution than murdering schoolchildren…

Two Post-Rock Recs: The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place and All Is Violent, All Is Bright

So here goes. This morning I navigated through one of my post-rock playlists until coming to an album which is an old favorite of mine. Said album happens to be The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place by none another than the legendary Explosions In The Sky. It’s truly breathtaking. The crescendos are accompanied by such emotional buildup that it’s little wonder why EITS receives such renown amongst listeners from both inside and outside of the post-rock scene.

The second album I recommend is All Is Violent, All Is Bright, by God Is An Astronaut. God Is An Astronaut is reminiscent of EITS, but they have a more electronic sound. The guitars are saturated with delay/chorus and a plethora of other effects, which along with the synth, helps to create a spacey, modern feel. All Is Violent, All Is Bright is significantly darker and a heavier than The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place, but is still a beautiful album.

Try playing them successively, and you’ll understand why they’re my favorites.