comments_imageCOMMENTS: 75

Obama's Caterpillar Visit a Thumb in the Eye for Human Rights Activists

Caterpillar's equipment has been used to level homes, build Israel's illegal separation wall and, in some cases, kill innocent civilians.
February 14, 2009  |  
 
 
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Over the objections of church groups, peace organizations and human rights activists, President Barack Obama decided to return to Illinois to visit the headquarters of the Caterpillar company, which for years has violated international law, U.S. law and its own code of conduct by selling its D9 and D10 bulldozers to Israel.   

In his speech on Thursday, Obama praised Caterpillar, saying, “Your machines plow the farms that feed our families; build the towers that shape our skylines; lay the roads that connect our communities; power the trucks that deliver our goods.”  He failed to mention that Caterpillar machines have been used to level Palestinian homes, uproot olive orchards, build the illegal separation wall and, in some cases, kill innocent civilians, including a 23-year old American peace activist. 

Given the slump in sales that forced Caterpillar to lay off thousands of workers, the company is emblematic of the problems facing industrial towns of the Midwest in the face of the worse recession in decades and was therefore seen as an appropriate place for Obama to make an appearance.  Yet surely there were other heavy equipment manufacturers, or other industries, he could have chosen to visit -- one which doesn't provide its wares for what have been widely recognized as crimes against humanity and is not the subject of an international boycott by the human rights community. 

The Caterpillar boycott has been endorsed by scores of church groups, peace organizations, and human rights groups.  Following enormous pressure from both clergy and laity, the Church of England announced three days prior to Obama’s visit that it had sold off $3.3 million in stockholdings in the company.  And, two days earlier, Hampshire College became the first American college or university to divest from Caterpillar.  Some have interpreted Obama’s visit as a rebuke to these recent gains in the international campaign against the Peoria-based corporation. 

Supplying Repression

More than 15,000 Palestinian homes in the occupied territories have been destroyed by Israeli occupation forces, the majority with Caterpillar bulldozers.  Most of these have been for clearance operations to make way for Israeli colonists and related occupation infrastructure, not for security reasons.  An estimated 50,000 Palestinians have been made homeless by Caterpillar bulldozers. 

Meanwhile, more than one million olive trees -- many centuries old and in the hands of a single family for many generations -- have been destroyed, mostly with caterpillar's heavy equipment. UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Jean Ziegler, in a letter to Caterpillar ‘s chief executive officer James Owens, argued that the Israeli occupying forces’ destruction of Palestinian agricultural resources “further limit[s] the sustainable means for the Palestinian people to enjoy physical and economic access to food” and constituted a clear violation of international law. 

Caterpillar bulldozers and other equipment have been used in the construction of Israel’s separation wall in the occupied West Bank, which has been declared illegal by a near-unanimous decision (with only the U.S. judge objecting) by the International Court of Justice. 

Caterpillar has not just been responsible for the destruction of Palestinian property and Israel’s illegal land grabs, however, but also for the deaths of nearly a dozen people, including an 85-year-old man, several children, and American peace activist Rachel Corrie. 

The Case of Rachel Corrie

In December 2001, as violent Palestinian protests against the then 34-year Israeli occupation increased -- along with Israeli repression -- the United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for the placement of unarmed human rights monitors in the occupied territories. In response, a number of pacifist groups from the United States and Europe began to send their own representatives to play the role of human rights monitors, even to the point of physically placing their bodies between the antagonists.

Among these volunteers was Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old student at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Of particular concern for her and her colleagues was the use of Caterpillar bulldozers destroying Palestinian homes and orchards.

On March 16, in the Rafah refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip, Israeli occupation forces were preparing to destroy a series of homes, including that of a Palestinian pharmacist and his family.  Rachel was among a group of international observers who stood in front of the bulldozer as a form of nonviolent resistance against this illegal act by Israeli occupation forces. According to both Palestinian and American eyewitnesses, Rachel was standing in plain site of the bulldozer's driver. She was wearing a bright fluorescent orange jacket and had engaged the driver in conversation to try to convince him not to destroy the house. Nevertheless, after an initial pause, the Caterpillar bulldozer surged forward despite cries from Rachel's colleagues, trapping her feet under the dirt so she could not get out of the way before being run over. The Caterpillar bulldozer then backed up, running Rachel over a second time, mortally wounding her. She died in a nearby hospital a short time later.


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Stephen Zunes is a professor of Politics and chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco and serves as a senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus.
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Obama has little choice as a subordinate president
Posted by: masthead on Feb 15, 2009 12:24 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
it’s very clear the israeli garrison state and the jewish lobby calls the shots on american foreign policy and anything connected with zionist likud government who’s mission is to drive the Palestinians into the sea. this was already clear before obama became president with his exhibition of boot-licking the jewish lobby. they, and the wall street corporate complex gave him tremendous financial support and got him elected to become just another subordinate president like bush II. i like Obama and wish him success and i believe all peoples have a right to exist including the jewish state, however, ever since they were given the mandate to occupy lands of questionable ownership they have pursued, like Germany did during the Third Reich, their own form of Lebensraum policy.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» AIPAC will be Obama's undoing Posted by: weathered

Comments are closed-

"Alternet"? Alternate to objectivity
Posted by: james_allen on Feb 15, 2009 2:36 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I have found Alternet a useful source of information, but its bizarrely one-sided view of the Israel-Palestine problem is discouraging. Not enough to condemn Israel; now it attacks ... Caterpillar??? What a joke.

In these blogs, Alternetters insist that they condemn anti-Israel terrorism, but in fact they *never* do (except when accused of not condemning it).

I hope one of the more self-aware anti-Israel Alternetters will respond to this. Not to tell me why I'm wrong about Israel (all our minds are already made up :-) but to explain why with so many "progressive" and good-spirited people willing to sympathize with Israel, Alternet is infested with people who can't see past their nose. Is it just a case of "my enemies enemy"?? (Bush condemned Islamic terrorism, so "we" support it?; Banks caused "the problem" and "everyone knows" banks are owned by Jews?) Or are the Limbaughists correct, and "progressives" just as stupid and ignorant as those they condemn?

Will I get an answer other than yadda-yadda, you're wrong? I'm not holding my breath.

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» before or after the fact Posted by: yirrp

Comments are closed-

Surreal...
Posted by: MyLeftFoot on Feb 15, 2009 3:38 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I know that Alternet has little choice in what ads get put up on the site but the ad for comparing bulldozer prices at the end of the article was very surreal.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Surreal...LOL!! LOL! Posted by: HANGTRAITORS
» Thank you Joshua for clearing up the confusion. Posted by: Jennifer Bedingfield

Comments are closed-

Bulldozers
Posted by: jackstevenson on Feb 15, 2009 6:17 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Blaming an inanimate object or its manufacturer or the manufacturer's employees for the way some people use the object is illogical, unreasonable, and unproductive.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» Agreed! Posted by: BlueTigress

Comments are closed-

Blaming Cats? Well then...
Posted by: rue on Feb 15, 2009 7:28 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
we should also boycott Boeing for being involved in the building of war planes, companies that build the trucks that not only move our goods but also military supplies, all of the computer manufacturers for providing a tool to people who have hurt others, and while we're at it, food for providing sustenance to people who have hurt others.

catepillar machines have provided many people with jobs, the roads that you drive in and the buildings you live, work, and play in. it sucks that they've been used to hurt people, but so has everything else that has been used by the military, which just happens to include a lot of things we use and rely on every day.

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» RE: Blaming Cats? Well then... Posted by: BlueTigress

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This comment has been removed from the site due to non-compliance with AlterNet's community policies.

Comments are closed-

You guys miss the point
Posted by: login@bugmenot.com on Feb 15, 2009 8:59 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Caterpillar, manufactures, uparmors and outfits the D9 and D10 to the specifications of the Israeli army. That's not the same as selling the yellow civilian version out in the open market. Caterpillar doesn't have control over the sale of the civilian version, but when it directly provides Israel with bulldozers to illegally demolish Palestinian homes left and right, then boycotting such a company becomes a clear human rights issue.

Here is a picture of the D9 in question.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Correct Analysis Posted by: simonhhh
» You're missing the point Posted by: BlueTigress
» RE: You're missing the point Posted by: bornxeyed
» ????? Posted by: BlueTigress

Comments are closed-

Keep boycotting any pro-Israel bulldozing contracting companies out there.
Posted by: Jennifer Bedingfield on Feb 15, 2009 10:35 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The more we gun down, the better the chances that Israel will actually be forced to show respect for themselves and each other.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]


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You are reaching
Posted by: BlueTigress on Feb 15, 2009 11:37 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
A Caterpillar bulldozer is a TOOL.

It is neither inherently good or inherently evil.

How it is used is up to the user.

It is not up to the manufacturer to decide who gets to buy their product based on what they plan on doing with it.

The author is a fool and anyone who buys into this is an idiot.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: You are reaching Posted by: bornxeyed
» I agree with you! Posted by: David/Daoud
» RE: I agree with you! Posted by: bornxeyed
» RE: You are reaching Posted by: aichbe

Comments are closed-

Imagine..
Posted by: 2thepoint on Feb 15, 2009 12:14 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Caterpillar equipment with a mind of their own.. built specifically for demolishing homes and bringing death and destruction to thousands.. a bulldozer sees a home and heads straight for it. The operator bears no responsibility?

Come to think of it you usually see Toyota or Nissan pickup trucks with an automatic weapon strapped to the back with a few muslim terrorists riding there. I guess Toyota is responsible for the thousands and even millions killed by muslim terrorists - imagine Darfur on the shoulders of Toyota or Nissan.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Imagine.. Posted by: bornxeyed
» RE: Imagine.. Posted by: cdmsr
» RE: Imagine.. Posted by: aichbe

Comments are closed-

We can't solve the tough problems, so let's engage in magical thinking.
Posted by: Longdream on Feb 15, 2009 2:07 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If this is an example of the efforts of the Left to stop human rights violations and effect stability between Israel and the Palestinians, then we need better and smarter leaders.

Because how, exactly, does scapegoating this company, which sell its construction and farm equipment to the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, which self-righteous body THEN exports the wares as WEAPONRY to Israel, please again explain HOW placing economic sanctions on this company will end Israel's inhumane, godless behavior?

What do we expect would happen if this stupid initiative were successful? OH! ACK! NO MORE BULLDOZERS! WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO STOP THIS KNOCKING DOWN OF PEOPLE AND HOMES!--But there's a well-trammelled, well-accepted Israeli law saying that the property of an enemy of the state is forfeit, and since the 60's the definition of that enemy has included his or her family, and the definition of forfeit has been FLAT.

Why isn't this delegation camped out at the KNESSET insisting on the repeal of such a violent, gutless, law which places Israel square in the camp of the world's worst human rights violators?

Why isn't this delegation camped out at the Pentagon asking why this farm equipment, given as part of The US's foreign aid package to Israel is sent as weapons under the US Foreign Military Sales Program, and either modified by us or later by Israel (NOT BY CATERPILLAR) to become weapons of destruction? Why isn't this committee haranguing the Pentagon and Congress, asking for an end to the violation of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, which prohibits the use of military aid against civilians?

Why isn't this committee engaged in support of diplomatic efforts, and pressuring for governmental reform instead of plowing narrow-minded, sterile lines in the wrong ground.

This effort is bankrupt, and cowardly. It's easy to try to buffalo a manufacturer with a bunch of earnest rhetoric. Keep at it, and sooner or later you may get the company to withdraw from that government contract.

After that, I've got a few different words for you: JOHN DEERE, MAHINDRA, AGCO, INTERNATIONAL, J.I. CASE, MASSEY FURGUSON, and so on and so on.

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» Here's a thought Posted by: bornxeyed
» RE: Here's a thought Posted by: Longdream
» RE: Here's a thought Posted by: bornxeyed
» Here's a afterthought Posted by: bornxeyed
» RE: Here's a afterthought Posted by: Longdream
» RE: Here's a afterthought Posted by: bornxeyed
» Furthermore Posted by: bornxeyed
» RE: Ad nauseaum Posted by: Longdream
» RE: Ad nauseaum Posted by: bornxeyed
» RE: Finis. Posted by: Longdream

Comments are closed-

with all due respect (read: none), Mr. Zunes,
Posted by: hurricane hugo on Feb 15, 2009 3:24 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You're a fucking idiot.

#@!

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CAT makes dirt movers used in the US, ya know
Posted by: YogiBear on Feb 15, 2009 7:43 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Agree on Rachael, disagree on the president. Using that train of thought, you would always blame the gun manufacturer for the pull of the trigger, blame the car dealer for the drunk driver, the confrontational author for the angry mob, etc. etc. The big CATs have other purposes, though someone's gotta make weapons of war. And while I agree that the U.S. stance on Israel is one-sided and unreasonable, so is yours.

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You're pissed off at Israel. Right. Blame the mail carrier.
Posted by: ABetterFuture on Feb 15, 2009 10:13 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Or you interwebs provider. Or your cable (cabal) service.

Caterpillar is employing folks and trying to stay afloat. They aren't accountable for what their products end up doing, any more than heinz is liable if someone were to bash you with a ketchup bottle.

Israel has done some disreputable things in response to some dastardly attacks upon her. Dragging CAT into this doesn't help your cause; it makes you look rather stupid.

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» 'attacks upon her' ? Posted by: weathered
» wrong Posted by: brianct

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Alternet becoming IdiotNet ?
Posted by: 24&somuchmore on Feb 15, 2009 10:34 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I used to look forward to reading Alternet articles, but either the quality of the articles and or commentary has declined, or I have changed my viewpoint. This article about Caterpillar, along with the article about the Octo-mom )" Is Reproduction a Sin ?" have been two of the most ignorant and jejune articles I have read in quite a while.
Just because you writers have a viewpoint, and can write about it lucidly, doesn't make it worthy of our attention. Perhaps an editor would add some value here to keep this =crap+ out of the public domain.

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Amazed that you actually teach at a major University.
Posted by: ty007 on Feb 16, 2009 4:01 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You think that a piece of equipment is to blame for death and destruction. It is not the equipment it’s people. We should ban guns, cars, air planes, bolts, nails, gun powder, knifes, ropes, fuel and rocks while we are at it! Tools can be used for the good of mankind as well as the bad. It is not the tool that kills. It is the person behind the tool or equipment that does the deed. You are amazingly stupid in my book! Best of luck convincing the world to ban Caterpillar from all the evil it inflicts on the world.

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Interesting: US senators support israel over murdered us citizen
Posted by: brianct on Feb 17, 2009 3:49 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
'The Israeli government claimed that it was an accident. Not only did the Bush administration accepted this interpretation and refused to call for an independent investigation, Rachel’s home state senators -- Democrats Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell – backed the Bush administration in denying that she was murdered, and refused to call for Congressional hearings. Soon thereafter, both threw their support behind an additional $1 billion in military aid to Israel'

Trust us...would we lie? says israel.

But then Democrats are the party most jews vote for. What we see here is either the coweardice of US senators (well known) or the control Israel thru US jews exerts over the senate. Thats called Corruption.

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Huh?
Posted by: overandunder on Feb 17, 2009 9:56 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Boycotts can be really useful and effective but when they go off base blaming the people who create a product because the people who buy it are misusing or destroying things with it, it's wacky to me. Let's blame spray paint companies for addicts sniffing it to get high or graffitti artists for defacing property. I understand that putting pressure on a company's profits is a great scare tactic but let's put the blame where it belongs, on the people using them. They sell bulldozers, that's what they do. They can't make people promise they won't misuse them before they sell each one.

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» RE: Huh? Posted by: fitzjohn
» RE: Huh? Posted by: aichbe

Comments are closed-

I just read...
Posted by: aichbe on Feb 18, 2009 11:43 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...your Sept 19, 2001 article on why it would be a stupid idea to attack Afghanistan. You were right then, and you're right now. Why not follow up with a little more info on these armored Caterpillar 'dozers, who converts them, what it costs, who pays, etc.? Some data on the company itself, who are the principles (names), and the number of units, profits, etc., would clarify a lot. Thanks.

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A New WAPI - WIFI Standards War Looms
Posted by: screw_1 on Feb 26, 2009 11:16 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
____________________
video converter for mac

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Alternet Comments:

Comments are closed-

Obama has little choice as a subordinate president
Posted by: masthead on Feb 15, 2009 12:24 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
it’s very clear the israeli garrison state and the jewish lobby calls the shots on american foreign policy and anything connected with zionist likud government who’s mission is to drive the Palestinians into the sea. this was already clear before obama became president with his exhibition of boot-licking the jewish lobby. they, and the wall street corporate complex gave him tremendous financial support and got him elected to become just another subordinate president like bush II. i like Obama and wish him success and i believe all peoples have a right to exist including the jewish state, however, ever since they were given the mandate to occupy lands of questionable ownership they have pursued, like Germany did during the Third Reich, their own form of Lebensraum policy.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» AIPAC will be Obama's undoing Posted by: weathered

Comments are closed-

"Alternet"? Alternate to objectivity
Posted by: james_allen on Feb 15, 2009 2:36 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I have found Alternet a useful source of information, but its bizarrely one-sided view of the Israel-Palestine problem is discouraging. Not enough to condemn Israel; now it attacks ... Caterpillar??? What a joke.

In these blogs, Alternetters insist that they condemn anti-Israel terrorism, but in fact they *never* do (except when accused of not condemning it).

I hope one of the more self-aware anti-Israel Alternetters will respond to this. Not to tell me why I'm wrong about Israel (all our minds are already made up :-) but to explain why with so many "progressive" and good-spirited people willing to sympathize with Israel, Alternet is infested with people who can't see past their nose. Is it just a case of "my enemies enemy"?? (Bush condemned Islamic terrorism, so "we" support it?; Banks caused "the problem" and "everyone knows" banks are owned by Jews?) Or are the Limbaughists correct, and "progressives" just as stupid and ignorant as those they condemn?

Will I get an answer other than yadda-yadda, you're wrong? I'm not holding my breath.

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» before or after the fact Posted by: yirrp

Comments are closed-

Surreal...
Posted by: MyLeftFoot on Feb 15, 2009 3:38 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I know that Alternet has little choice in what ads get put up on the site but the ad for comparing bulldozer prices at the end of the article was very surreal.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Surreal...LOL!! LOL! Posted by: HANGTRAITORS
» Thank you Joshua for clearing up the confusion. Posted by: Jennifer Bedingfield

Comments are closed-

Bulldozers
Posted by: jackstevenson on Feb 15, 2009 6:17 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Blaming an inanimate object or its manufacturer or the manufacturer's employees for the way some people use the object is illogical, unreasonable, and unproductive.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» Agreed! Posted by: BlueTigress

Comments are closed-

Blaming Cats? Well then...
Posted by: rue on Feb 15, 2009 7:28 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
we should also boycott Boeing for being involved in the building of war planes, companies that build the trucks that not only move our goods but also military supplies, all of the computer manufacturers for providing a tool to people who have hurt others, and while we're at it, food for providing sustenance to people who have hurt others.

catepillar machines have provided many people with jobs, the roads that you drive in and the buildings you live, work, and play in. it sucks that they've been used to hurt people, but so has everything else that has been used by the military, which just happens to include a lot of things we use and rely on every day.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Blaming Cats? Well then... Posted by: BlueTigress

Comments are closed-

This comment has been removed from the site due to non-compliance with AlterNet's community policies.

Comments are closed-

You guys miss the point
Posted by: login@bugmenot.com on Feb 15, 2009 8:59 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Caterpillar, manufactures, uparmors and outfits the D9 and D10 to the specifications of the Israeli army. That's not the same as selling the yellow civilian version out in the open market. Caterpillar doesn't have control over the sale of the civilian version, but when it directly provides Israel with bulldozers to illegally demolish Palestinian homes left and right, then boycotting such a company becomes a clear human rights issue.

Here is a picture of the D9 in question.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Correct Analysis Posted by: simonhhh
» You're missing the point Posted by: BlueTigress
» RE: You're missing the point Posted by: bornxeyed
» ????? Posted by: BlueTigress

Comments are closed-

Keep boycotting any pro-Israel bulldozing contracting companies out there.
Posted by: Jennifer Bedingfield on Feb 15, 2009 10:35 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The more we gun down, the better the chances that Israel will actually be forced to show respect for themselves and each other.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]


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You are reaching
Posted by: BlueTigress on Feb 15, 2009 11:37 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
A Caterpillar bulldozer is a TOOL.

It is neither inherently good or inherently evil.

How it is used is up to the user.

It is not up to the manufacturer to decide who gets to buy their product based on what they plan on doing with it.

The author is a fool and anyone who buys into this is an idiot.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: You are reaching Posted by: bornxeyed
» I agree with you! Posted by: David/Daoud
» RE: I agree with you! Posted by: bornxeyed
» RE: You are reaching Posted by: aichbe

Comments are closed-

Imagine..
Posted by: 2thepoint on Feb 15, 2009 12:14 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Caterpillar equipment with a mind of their own.. built specifically for demolishing homes and bringing death and destruction to thousands.. a bulldozer sees a home and heads straight for it. The operator bears no responsibility?

Come to think of it you usually see Toyota or Nissan pickup trucks with an automatic weapon strapped to the back with a few muslim terrorists riding there. I guess Toyota is responsible for the thousands and even millions killed by muslim terrorists - imagine Darfur on the shoulders of Toyota or Nissan.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Imagine.. Posted by: bornxeyed
» RE: Imagine.. Posted by: cdmsr
» RE: Imagine.. Posted by: aichbe

Comments are closed-

We can't solve the tough problems, so let's engage in magical thinking.
Posted by: Longdream on Feb 15, 2009 2:07 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If this is an example of the efforts of the Left to stop human rights violations and effect stability between Israel and the Palestinians, then we need better and smarter leaders.

Because how, exactly, does scapegoating this company, which sell its construction and farm equipment to the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, which self-righteous body THEN exports the wares as WEAPONRY to Israel, please again explain HOW placing economic sanctions on this company will end Israel's inhumane, godless behavior?

What do we expect would happen if this stupid initiative were successful? OH! ACK! NO MORE BULLDOZERS! WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO STOP THIS KNOCKING DOWN OF PEOPLE AND HOMES!--But there's a well-trammelled, well-accepted Israeli law saying that the property of an enemy of the state is forfeit, and since the 60's the definition of that enemy has included his or her family, and the definition of forfeit has been FLAT.

Why isn't this delegation camped out at the KNESSET insisting on the repeal of such a violent, gutless, law which places Israel square in the camp of the world's worst human rights violators?

Why isn't this delegation camped out at the Pentagon asking why this farm equipment, given as part of The US's foreign aid package to Israel is sent as weapons under the US Foreign Military Sales Program, and either modified by us or later by Israel (NOT BY CATERPILLAR) to become weapons of destruction? Why isn't this committee haranguing the Pentagon and Congress, asking for an end to the violation of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, which prohibits the use of military aid against civilians?

Why isn't this committee engaged in support of diplomatic efforts, and pressuring for governmental reform instead of plowing narrow-minded, sterile lines in the wrong ground.

This effort is bankrupt, and cowardly. It's easy to try to buffalo a manufacturer with a bunch of earnest rhetoric. Keep at it, and sooner or later you may get the company to withdraw from that government contract.

After that, I've got a few different words for you: JOHN DEERE, MAHINDRA, AGCO, INTERNATIONAL, J.I. CASE, MASSEY FURGUSON, and so on and so on.

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» Here's a thought Posted by: bornxeyed
» RE: Here's a thought Posted by: Longdream
» RE: Here's a thought Posted by: bornxeyed
» Here's a afterthought Posted by: bornxeyed
» RE: Here's a afterthought Posted by: Longdream
» RE: Here's a afterthought Posted by: bornxeyed
» Furthermore Posted by: bornxeyed
» RE: Ad nauseaum Posted by: Longdream
» RE: Ad nauseaum Posted by: bornxeyed
» RE: Finis. Posted by: Longdream

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with all due respect (read: none), Mr. Zunes,
Posted by: hurricane hugo on Feb 15, 2009 3:24 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You're a fucking idiot.

#@!

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CAT makes dirt movers used in the US, ya know
Posted by: YogiBear on Feb 15, 2009 7:43 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Agree on Rachael, disagree on the president. Using that train of thought, you would always blame the gun manufacturer for the pull of the trigger, blame the car dealer for the drunk driver, the confrontational author for the angry mob, etc. etc. The big CATs have other purposes, though someone's gotta make weapons of war. And while I agree that the U.S. stance on Israel is one-sided and unreasonable, so is yours.

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You're pissed off at Israel. Right. Blame the mail carrier.
Posted by: ABetterFuture on Feb 15, 2009 10:13 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Or you interwebs provider. Or your cable (cabal) service.

Caterpillar is employing folks and trying to stay afloat. They aren't accountable for what their products end up doing, any more than heinz is liable if someone were to bash you with a ketchup bottle.

Israel has done some disreputable things in response to some dastardly attacks upon her. Dragging CAT into this doesn't help your cause; it makes you look rather stupid.

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» 'attacks upon her' ? Posted by: weathered
» wrong Posted by: brianct

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Alternet becoming IdiotNet ?
Posted by: 24&somuchmore on Feb 15, 2009 10:34 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I used to look forward to reading Alternet articles, but either the quality of the articles and or commentary has declined, or I have changed my viewpoint. This article about Caterpillar, along with the article about the Octo-mom )" Is Reproduction a Sin ?" have been two of the most ignorant and jejune articles I have read in quite a while.
Just because you writers have a viewpoint, and can write about it lucidly, doesn't make it worthy of our attention. Perhaps an editor would add some value here to keep this =crap+ out of the public domain.

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Amazed that you actually teach at a major University.
Posted by: ty007 on Feb 16, 2009 4:01 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You think that a piece of equipment is to blame for death and destruction. It is not the equipment it’s people. We should ban guns, cars, air planes, bolts, nails, gun powder, knifes, ropes, fuel and rocks while we are at it! Tools can be used for the good of mankind as well as the bad. It is not the tool that kills. It is the person behind the tool or equipment that does the deed. You are amazingly stupid in my book! Best of luck convincing the world to ban Caterpillar from all the evil it inflicts on the world.

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Interesting: US senators support israel over murdered us citizen
Posted by: brianct on Feb 17, 2009 3:49 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
'The Israeli government claimed that it was an accident. Not only did the Bush administration accepted this interpretation and refused to call for an independent investigation, Rachel’s home state senators -- Democrats Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell – backed the Bush administration in denying that she was murdered, and refused to call for Congressional hearings. Soon thereafter, both threw their support behind an additional $1 billion in military aid to Israel'

Trust us...would we lie? says israel.

But then Democrats are the party most jews vote for. What we see here is either the coweardice of US senators (well known) or the control Israel thru US jews exerts over the senate. Thats called Corruption.

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Huh?
Posted by: overandunder on Feb 17, 2009 9:56 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Boycotts can be really useful and effective but when they go off base blaming the people who create a product because the people who buy it are misusing or destroying things with it, it's wacky to me. Let's blame spray paint companies for addicts sniffing it to get high or graffitti artists for defacing property. I understand that putting pressure on a company's profits is a great scare tactic but let's put the blame where it belongs, on the people using them. They sell bulldozers, that's what they do. They can't make people promise they won't misuse them before they sell each one.

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» RE: Huh? Posted by: fitzjohn
» RE: Huh? Posted by: aichbe

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I just read...
Posted by: aichbe on Feb 18, 2009 11:43 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...your Sept 19, 2001 article on why it would be a stupid idea to attack Afghanistan. You were right then, and you're right now. Why not follow up with a little more info on these armored Caterpillar 'dozers, who converts them, what it costs, who pays, etc.? Some data on the company itself, who are the principles (names), and the number of units, profits, etc., would clarify a lot. Thanks.

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A New WAPI - WIFI Standards War Looms
Posted by: screw_1 on Feb 26, 2009 11:16 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
____________________
video converter for mac

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