We do not pander or pull punches here at the Locust Fork. We call it like we see it and try to publish the empirical truth. We do our best to connect the dots for readers. So let's be clear about the situation in the Middle East that continues to dominate the headlines.

We wish there were an isolated ring somewhere on the planet where all the Christians, Jews and Muslims could fight it out and kill themselves off. That would leave the planet to smarter human beings who realize that heaven and hell are right here on earth and it is our job to protect the planet, conserve natural resources, and try every day of our lives to live in harmony with each other and the Earth.

Alas, religious zealots are all over the planet. And like greedy cockroaches, they breed in great numbers and sneak into our houses in the middle of the night and distrupt our existence. At least wi th the cockroaches, we can poison them or stomp on them. With the religious zealot, there is no alternative it seems but to pay attention to his plight, try diplomacy where we can, and where that fails, drop bombs.

Notice this statement, for example, which came unsolicited into my e-mail inbox today.

"We love atheists in the bible belt," says Luke Browning in something called the Evangelical Spectator, a publication out of Tennessee apparently. "We hunt them for their fur. Keeps us warm in the winter. Grandma Reynolds needs just six more pelts before you can get a full-length coat. If you see a big hairy beast, please point him out."

Well, my reply was, but it is only a line: "Someone must have sent you my e-mail address by mistake. Around here, we feed dumbass Christians like you to the lions."

Earlier today, I printed out and read this story, which appeared in the Washington Post Sunday magazine. It documents the historical rise of the Isreali lobby's influence on American politics. It's is worth reading, for anyone who wants to gather the facts on why our politics and news are so dominated by wars in the Middle East.

Israel Lobby's Influence on Washington

Then, the Birmingham Peace Project agreed at its most recent meeting to issue a statement concerning the situation in the Middle East. Since the statement will most likely not see the light of day in the mainstream press and media in Alabama, here is the text of that statement.

Recently, an interfaith meeting was hosted at Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, Alabama which developed "Ten Principles For Living in Community." The principles included: use of religion as an agent of healing, reconciliation and peace; everyone enjoying the same rights; understanding, cooperation and respect being encouraged; and no one using religion to gain advantage over others.

Recent weeks have demonstrated that the State of Israel has no interest in upholding them these principles. Sadly, for Israel, more and more "Never Again" means never again will Jewish people be victims. If it were to have any meaning, "Never Again" would mean never again will the world community tolerate massive violations of human rights by the Israeli government, protected by the United States, eagerly violates Palestinian rights under that banner.

The Birmingham Peace Project cannot be silent in the face of the assault on the people of Gaza (and now Lebanon). Indeed, those actions must be condemned by all who value peace, justice and human rights. Yet much of the media in this country, as well as government officials, call only for Palestinian concessions to end the suffering raining down upon them by US-supplied weapons.

The facts are not really open to debate. A free and fair election in the Occupied Territories resulted in a Hamas victory. Israel and the United States then refused to send to Palestine money that belonged to it because they opposed the democratically elected government there.

Israel, despite its claims, continues to occupy Palestinian land beyond the 1967 borders. A military target, a member of the Israeli Defense Forces, was captured, following severe provocation. In addition to the withholding of funds, Israeli troops stormed a Palestinian prison and seized a number of inmates after US and British troops who were supposed to protect the prison suspiciously abandoned their posts when the Israeli forces approached. Some thirty Palestinians were killed in the weeks before the capture. The captors sought a prisoner exchange and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert flatly refused, claiming that he would not negotiate over what he - and the US media - refer to as the "kidnapping" of an occupying soldier.

Then, Israel launched an assault on Gaza that is truly unimaginable. Due to Israel's bombing, the main electrical generating plant has been destroyed. What little water Israel allows people in Gaza is unavailable. Sonic booms are constant. Artillery fire does not let up. People there live in constant terror and fear for their lives. What little infrastructure Israel has left to Gaza is fast being destroyed. It is evident that Israel's only interest, whatever its rhetoric, is in denying the creation of a viable Palestinian state.

Israel has committed numerous violations of international law. It is imposing collective punishment on the Palestinian and Lebanese people and has targeted the civilian populations in violation of the Hague Regulations and Geneva Conventions. Its response, resulting in countless deaths in the civilian population, is entirely disproportionate to the capture of a total of three soldiers. Every United Nations agency on the ground in Gaza is reporting a growing humanitarian crisis in a population that was already suffering an 80% poverty rate and a 40% unemployment rate.

Terrorism is not perpetrated only by rogue individuals. It can be imposed by governments. There is no term more descriptive of the Israeli assault than state-sponsored terrorism. And there is no better way to describe the US in this regard than Israel's sponsor, so Americans have a special responsibility to demand the siege end immediately.

The Birmingham Peace Project therefore demands:

1. That Israeli aggression in Gaza (and now Lebanon) cease immediately and that Israel withdraw behind the 1967 borders and that it cease the economic embargo and release all Palestinian funds to the legitimate government.

2. That Israel immediately and unconditionally release all Palestinian parliamentary and government officials it has kidnapped.

3. That Israel respect and act to implement the right of the Palestinian people to national self-determination.

4. That Israel comply with its obligations under the findings by the International Court of Justice that the wall it has constructed on Palestinian territory violates international law.

The BPP recognizes that some will accuse it of ignoring Palestinian acts of terror. In response, we can only quote Rabbi Michael Lerner, long a critic of both sides to the conflict: "But this week it's impossible as a Jew and as an American to not notice that a new human rights violation by Israel has taken place which manages to surpass many of its previous violations in cruelty and in the outrage it has generated."

It appears that Israel seeks to learn not the lessons of Nazism, but its techniques. Support of Israeli aggression is a betrayal of all that is good and noble in both Jewish and American traditions. We cannot be party to this and we cannot allow the United States to continue to facilitate it.

We support peace and security for all states in the Middle East but we condemn aggression and terror and all the more so when sponsored by a government in power.

We tend to agree, although we would urge all politicians and media outlets to do more to promote peace and solutions to problems based on science - and to downplay religion. Emotional, religious opinions only get us into more trouble, and it seems to us, do nothing to solve problems and in fact make most situations worse.

To re-paraphrase an almost forgotten scholar: Bright people of the world unite! Can we stop the jihad madness - and the crusades - please?

We would rather be canoing down a pristine river somewhere. Alas, the mounting problems on the planet just cannot be ignored. The fate of the human species and the planet depend on the educated minority taking a stand. Where do you stand?