Psycho Babble

“Far more revealing are the words of Moshe Yaalon, then the Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff, in 2002: "The Palestinians must be made to understand in the deepest recesses of their consciousness that they are a defeated people."

I received my first “knowledge” of the Jewish psyche from Leon Uris highly readable Mila 18.

Those who are well read would know for a fact that Jews take on the role of being the victims with much relish.

Unfortunately, the Second World War reinforced this notion with the community’s systematic genocide at the hands of the megalomaniac Adolf Hitler.

An estimated six million died in concentration camps, from being subjects to harrowing “scientific” tests, mass executions during what was termed “The Holocaust”.

It is a fact that Hitler despised Jews, something he made clear in his autobiography Mein Kampf (1925).

His alleged statement on Jews is a chilling read:

“Once I really am in power, my first and foremost task will be the annihilation of the Jews. As soon as I have the power to do so, I will have gallows built in rows – at the Marienplatz in Munich, for example – as many as traffic allows. Then the Jews will be hanged indiscriminately, and they will remain hanging until they stink; they will hang there as long as the principles of hygiene permit. As soon as they have been untied, the next batch will be strung up, and so on down the line, until the last Jew in Munich has been exterminated. Other cities will follow suit, precisely in this fashion, until all Germany has been completely cleansed of Jews.”

Read Mila 18, and you will see this hatred being translated into a power pack play of words that strikes deep into the Jewish psyche of being ever the victimised.

The quote at this start of this posting was taken from IHT and is from Rashid Khalidi, a professor of Arab studies at Columbia.

Reading it recall me the contents of Uris’ Mila 18, and how the notion of being victims was over and over again inculcated into the reader.

It is a strong propaganda that would lead one to be sympathetic to the Jewish cause.

The same notion is being played out in the latest excursion of the Israeli forces into Gaza.

It is subtle, but the “We are the victims” psychology is still being played out, hinting of a society being besieged by arrogant neighbors who could do much damage to the small kid in the block should they set themselves to do such an affront.

You may just asked why Israel - whose armed forces is clearly far superior to the pathetic armed response of the so-called militant Hamas (see the play of words) – even needed to invade Gaza and the answer lie in the abovementioned quote.

They have to show defiance and even thumb their noses to the world’s indignation in such a lopsided war. (if you could even call it that in the first place.)

The Jewish people’s psyche of being “the” victims demands their being brutish towards the Palestinians.

Doesn’t matter that it is no longer the truth.

The continued existence and survival of the Jewish community rely on this powerful notion.

You can read this message right at the end of Mila 18.

Saving Private Fat Cats

“How much is 700 billion? The mind registers the number with such imprecision as to make it meaningless.”

Really: Just how much is US$700 billion?


This is the figure bandied by the US government to stem the country’s steep descent into god knows where its headed economic turmoil.

In numerical terms, 700 billion is not much really: just eleven zeros behind the seven. Even converting to Ringgit at a crude USD1 = Ringgit 3, we’d get eleven zeros behind 21.

But then, it would be 2.1 trillion. In Ringgit.

US$700 billion is also 6,713,000 billion in Indonesian Rupiah at USD1 = Rp9,590.

700 billion in Zimbabwean Dollar will however only get you about 1½ kilos of mince meat – if you can find the item in the first place.

US$700 billion is also the Pentagon’s budget with at least US$100 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan.

In Iraq, conservative estimate puts war casualties at around 700,000 in 2007 – four years after the country was invaded on the pretext of being liberated.

700,000. Approximately US$1,000 per head if you compare the figures bandied where WAR is concerned.

They didn’t need to bail the fat cats with taxpayers’ money after all.

All that money...