Dove's Eye View

The Geo-Green Alternative

My friend Alison, the MIT-trained physicist, has been patiently explaining to me why she is an environmentalist and bird-lover who supports nuclear power. She just sent this link to a Thomas Friedman column about nuclear power, Iran, and democracy in the Middle East: The Geo-Green Alternative - from the NY Times. If you're not a subscriber, try this link.

(Friedman writes) "I am a geo-green. The geo-greens believe that, going forward, if we put all our focus on reducing the price of oil - by conservation, by developing renewable and alternative energies and by expanding nuclear power - we will force more reform than by any other strategy. You give me $18-a-barrel oil and I will give you political and economic reform from Algeria to Iran. All these regimes have huge population bubbles and too few jobs. They make up the gap with oil revenues. Shrink the oil revenue and they will have to open up their economies and their schools and liberate their women so that their people can compete. It is that simple.

"By refusing to rein in U.S. energy consumption, the Bush team is not only depriving itself of the most effective lever for promoting internally driven reform in the Middle East, it is also depriving itself of any military option. As Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, points out, given today's tight oil market and current U.S. consumption patterns, any kind of U.S. strike on Iran, one of the world's major oil producers, would send the price of oil through the roof, causing real problems for our economy. "Our own energy policy has tied our hands," Mr. Haass said."

The Dove is expanding her limits here by giving both Thomas Friedman and nuclear power some airtime. True peace only comes when you open your mind.

Chickens Come Home to Roost

Normally the Dove doesn't post items that find hope in the downfall of others, but Juan Cole has some information on the resignation of Douglas Feith: Feith resigns under pressure.

Douglas Feith, the number three man at the Pentagon who went there from the pro-Likud Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) and the Project for a New American Century, will leave the Pentagon as of this summer. Feith's office is the subject of an FBI investigation as well as two Congressional investigations, one by the Senate Intelligence Committee. Feith helped set up an Office of Special Plans in the Near East and South Asia desk of the Pentagon to cherry-pick Iraq intelligence and create a case for Iraq having weapons of mass destruction and having operational links with al-Qaeda.

Another link to the Feith investigations.

The Dove's faith in the rule of law leads her to hope that justice might prevail. Feith is one of the architects of the Iraq war.

Peace?

Eric Alterman thinks he sees signs of hope, discussed here in a pro-Israel website: Israel Policy Forum - Tahdia Now.

Google News turns up the following:

"Sharon talks of historic breakthrough"

"Period of calm in progress"

"Palestinians ban carrying of weapons"

"Palestinian Security Forces deploy in South Gaza"
"Conditions ripe for a breakthrough in Palestine"

"Peres optimistic about talks"

"Israeli army to limit Gaza, West Bank operations"

"Gaza pullout must be tied to peace - Palestinians"

The Dove brings back olive branches from beyond the water - perhaps the land of peace is near.

No on Gonzales

The political blog Daily Kos is taking a stand: Daily Kos :: No on Gonzales.

The Dove, who believes fervently in the rule of law as the last refuge against the forces of chaos, adds her voice. Torture is against the law for good reasons. It has so far not helped us gain anything in this terrible war, and it has harmed us in ways we can't even begin to evaluate. Alberto Gonzalez wrote memos supporting the use of torture, in Guantanamo as well as Iraq. He is not worthy of the post of Attorney General of the United States.

The Arabs and The Holocaust

Via the Head Heeb: The Arabs and the Holocaust.

Dr. Robert Satloff of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy writes about the forgotten history of North African Arabs who resisted Nazi attempts to bring the Holocaust to the Maghreb. Dr. Satloff spent several years in North Africa researching Nazi efforts there, and found many villains who collaborated with them during their brief occupation. He tells the whole story in the linked essay. The Dove, of course, is more interested in the heroes, whose stories he also uncovered:

"Heroes, though fewer, provide inspiration beyond their numbers. Arab inmates of labor camps shared the suffering of Jews and at times forged an antifascist bond with them. The sultan of Morocco and the bey of Tunis provided moral support and, at times, practical help to Jewish subjects.

"In Vichy-controlled Algiers, mosque preachers gave Friday sermons forbidding believers from serving as conservators of confiscated Jewish property. Not one Arab broke ranks to take up the collaborationist French regime's lucrative offer.

"I tracked down the Chlaifa sisters, Muslim septuagenarians who confirmed a tale told to me by an elderly Jewish woman about a local notable, Khalid Abdulwahhab, who saved the lives of her family. He had whisked them away in the middle of the night to his countryside farm to escape the predations of a German officer bent on rape. He then guarded the Jews on his farm for several weeks, until German forces were expelled from Mahdia. He was a true hero.

"To many Arabs, discussing the Holocaust is radioactive because they fear it lends justification to Israel and its policies. But even that deep political dispute cannot obscure the fact that Arabs have a relationship with Jews that predates the establishment of Israel, a complex history that provides sources of pride as well as reasons for shame. Accessing that history would bring Arabs into a universal discussion of the Holocaust's message. "

Jonathan Edelstein suggests that Khalil Abdulwahhab's name be added to the memorial Yad Vashem, in Israel, as a righteous Gentile who protected Jews during the Holocaust.

God's Politics on The Daily Show

Jim Wallis of Sojourners Magazine has written a new book, God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get it. He appeared on the Daily Show with John Stewart recently. The link, plus links to Terry Gross and reviews, is here.

In the show he compares Jon Stewart to the Hebrew prophets, who "used humor and storytelling to make their points."

Sow Justice, Reap Peace

Jewish Voice for Peace offers a handsome new tee shirt for sale: End the Occupation/Sow Justice, Reap Peace. $20 includes shipping.

Light blogging otherwise. The Dove is coping with chemo so well that she is both applying to grad school (deadline February 1) and throwing a birthday party for her five year old (January 30, two dozen guests including 11 children). Hence less blogging.

Alison on Small Farms

Upgraded from comments, Alison says:

"I want to point out specifically why I find the Marin Agricultural Land Trust so inspiring, and why its existence is pertinent to this blog. The activities of MALT are described in the _Coast and Ocean_ articles like this one.

"All over the Bay Area, developers and environmentalists are fighting over the conversion of ranches and farms into housing. Often these controversies pit ranchers who need the money development would bring against those who oppose any development. The geniuses who founded MALT realized that environmentalists and farm families that want to preserve their way of life are essentially on the same side. These founders realized that if farmers sold the development rights to a land trust that they would be able to stay on their farms. The intellectual breakthrough that occurred with MALT allowed former opponents to unite in a common cause.

"The result is widespread preservation of dairy farms in coastal Marin.

"A very Dovish follow-on question is, what do other bitter enemies want in common? Asking such questions can be a method for finding novel solutions."

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End comment by Alison. Thank you, Alison, for making clear why the Dove posts these topics. The problems in Israel and Palestine could also be solved by asking such questions. Water, development, land use and agriculture are explosive issues in Israel and Palestine, and may be driving some of the worst of the behavior. See Jared Diamond's new book for a discussion of why societies collapse into violence.

PLO: End Attacks

From AP and Yahoo News: Top PLO Body Calls for End to Attacks.

"JERUSALEM - A top PLO decision-making body called on Palestinian militants Sunday to halt attacks against Israel, charging that the violence gives Israel an excuse to carry out military operations.

"In its statement, the PLO body called on militants to "stop all the military action that might harm our national goals and give the Israelis an excuse to obstruct Palestinian stability."

Israelis and Palestinians Survive Tsunami Together

Len Traubman alerts us to this Common Ground News Service article from the Jerusalem Post: Israeli and Palestinian tsunami survivors reunite in Jerusalem to give thanks and support.

Seems that an Israeli couple on honeymoon and a Palestinian couple on vacation in Phuket, Thailand, found each other during the tidal wave. They fled together and stayed together during the aftermath, the Palestinians giving the Israelis half of their cash on hand. The Israelis had lost everything in the tsunami.