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Future Palestinian Strategy
- Dr .Musil Shihadeh
The election of Mahmud Abbas as the president of the
PLO signaled another setback to the Palestinian struggle toward
achieving their national aspirations, not because of any doubts
that pertains to Mr. Abbas integrity or sincerity as much as his
agenda for liberation. He believes in subduing the Intifada by
demanding demilitarizing the Palestinian resistance in the name
of peaceful approaches. No one would argue against peaceful
means if it could actuate the Palestinian national goals, as it
would seem naïve to seek violence when peace can achieve the
same objectives. What are baffling though, the missing grounds
that impel Mr. Abbas to pursue his route, when Mr. Sharon has
declared his goals, more than once, that negates the legitimate
national objectives of the Palestinians. Apparently then, Mr.
Abbas is following a road that leads to a dead end, unless of
course he can convince us that he knows a lot more than Sharon's
declared maximum "concessions".
During the Ehud Barack's premiership, we were
all , and not to our surprise, presented by the known document
co-authored by both Mr. Sharon and Natanyahu, which in clear
details, drew the final position of the Likud party on any
future peace with the Palestinians. Such declaration was finally
ratified by building the famous Israeli "security" wall which
falls almost exactly on the previously declared lines set forth
by the Sharon-Natanyahu document, emphasizing that the wall
represent the final borders of Israel. Further research on the
subject of the wall will clearly show that Israel's "security"
wall would have been more secured if it was built on the "green"
lines that pertains to the 1967 borders and would even cost much
less to build and maintain. So if the wall represented the final
borders of future Israel, what is left for Mr. Abbas to
negotiate about with Israel? Is there any doubt in the minds of
most Palestinians that Mr. Sharon has also devastated the future
hopes of any peace when he declared very emphatically that the
Palestinian right of return has been erased from any future
peace negotiations? So if peaceful negotiations are to start
with Israeli wall and negation of the right of return how could
anyone on the Palestinian side hope for any progress on the
peaceful front?
Again even if we were to assume that Mr. Abbas
knows a lot more than what the public knows, what guarantees do
we have that the Likud could be forthcoming on the main issues
of negotiations? Haven't we learned anything, in not trusting
the Israelis after the devastating results from Oslo, Wye River,
Sharm El-Sheikh and Aqaba? Mr. Abbas himself in compliance with
Israeli and American demands carried with him to the White House
firm commitments from the Islamic organizations that promised to
stop all violence for two months provided Israel will stop its
violence and start withdrawing to its previous positions. Yet
Sharon continued his rampage into the West Bank and Gaza with
the unwavering support of the US. Prudence and past failures
should teach us to be ready with other alternatives which in
this case preparations for another Intifada and violent
resistance. One lesson that we all should have learnt from past
experiences that we have lost a lot through peaceful approaches
than from any other route. It should behoove our new leadership
to prepare for resistance by uniting all the fighting factions
under one strategy and one purpose before they engage in
delusional "peace" that will distant us away from our national
aspirations.
A Short
Story...
After 21 years of
marriage, I discovered a new way of keeping alive the spark of love. A
little while ago I had started to go out with another woman. It was
really my wife's idea. "I know that you love her," she said one day,
taking me by surprise. "But I love YOU," I protested.
"I know, but you also
love her." The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my
mother, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work
and my three children had made it possible to visit her only
occasionally. That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and
a movie.
"What's wrong, are you
well?" she asked. My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a
late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news. "I
thought that it would be pleasant to pass some time with you," I
responded. " Just the two of us." She thought about it for a moment then
said "I would like that very much."
That Friday after work,
as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at
her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date.
She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was
wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding
anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's.
"I told my friends that
I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed," she said,
as she got into the car. "They can't wait to hear about our meeting". We
went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy.
my mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady . After we sat down,
I had to read the menu to her. Her eyes could only read large print.
Half way through the entree, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there
staring at me.
A nostalgic smile was on
her lips. "It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were
small," she said. "Then it's time for you to relax and let me return the
favor," I responded During the dinner we had an agreeable conversation,
nothing extraordinary - but catching up on recent events of each others
lives. We talked so much that we events of each others lives. We talked
so much that we missed the movie.
As we arrived at her
house later, she said "I'll go out with you again, but only if you let
me invite you". I agreed. "How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when
I got home. "Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined," I
answered. A few days later my mother died of a massive heart attack. It
happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for her.
Some time later I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant
receipt from the same place mother and I had dined.
An attached note said:
"I paid this bill in advance. I was almost sure that I couldn't be there
but, nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for
your wife. You will never know what that night meant to me. I love you."
At that moment I understood the importance of saying, in time: "I LOVE
YOU" and giving our loved ones the time that they deserve. There are a
minuscule-few things in life that are more important than family and
friends. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be
put off 'til "some other time".
Someone once said "I've
learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll
miss them when they're gone from your life. I think this is true with
your in-laws, grandchildren, sisters, brothers and your friends. Anyone
that means something to you-you should spend time with them and let them
know how much they mean to you as often as you can.
Courtesy of our
friend: Rana A.
Study: Teen
Magazines Contain More Alcohol Ads
A new study concludes that the alcohol industry may
be indirectly targeting underage drinkers by placing liquor ads in
magazines with a high teen readership, the
Associated Press reported May 13.
The study, led by Dr. Craig Garfield of the
Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute in Illinois
and Dr. Paul Chung of the medical school at the University of
California at Los Angeles, compared the number of liquor ads in 35
magazines.
The researchers found that magazines that were
popular with teenagers, such as Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated,
and People, contain more liquor and beer ads than other magazines.
For every 1 million more readers ages 12 to 19 a magazine had,
there were 60 percent more beer and liquor ads.
"We're not in any way trying to suggest that
they are doing this intentionally. It simply may be worth it for
them to look a little more closely at their advertising
strategies," said Chung.
In response to the study's findings, the
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a major trade
association, said its members are "strongly committed to
responsible marketing and advertising policies directed to
adults."
The study is published in the May 14 issue of
the Journal of
the American Medical Association.
Garfield, C., Chung, P., & Rathouz, P. (2003)
Alcohol Advertising in Magazines and Adolescent Readership. JAMA,
289: 2424-2429.
Consider The Following
Matter During The 2004 US Presidential Campaign
Perhaps we are
asking the wrong questions during election years. Our Senators and
Congressmen do not pay into Social Security. Many years ago they
voted in their own benefit plan. In more recent years, no
congressperson has felt the need to change it. For all practical
purposes their plan works like this:
When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die,
except it may increase from time to time for cost of living
adjustments. For example, former Senator Byrd and Congressman White
and their wives may expect to draw $7,800,000 - that's Seven
Million, Eight Hundred Thousand), with their wives drawing
$275,000.00 during the last years of their lives.
This is calculated on an average life span for each.
Their cost for this excellent plan is $00.00. These little perks
they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab
for this plan.
The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the
General Fund--our tax dollars at work! From our own Social Security
Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into -- every payday until
we retire (which amount is matched by our employer) --we can expect
to get an average $1,000 per month after retirement. Or, in other
words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly
benefits for 68 years and one month to equal Senator Bill Bradley's
benefits!
Social Security could be very good if only one small change were
made. And that change would be to jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement
Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen. Put them into the
Social Security plan with the rest of us and then watch how fast
they would fix it.
R.L.
Fwded: by our
friend Cynthia L.
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Different Cultures
by
Jon Henshaw M.A.
Our families are like unique cultures. Each
culture has its own way of communicating, arguing, eating, sharing, and
showing affection. Most cultures remain intact by passing along their
nuances, habits, and sayings for hundreds of years, with only slight
variations occurring within each generation. The same is true for
families.
When two people get married, it can be like
a clash of cultures. Each person brings to the relationship their own
unique way of communicating and dealing with conflict. As the
infatuation stage wears off in most relationships, awareness of those
differences become more apparent. This is around the time when couples
start asking questions like:
Why won’t you talk to me?
Why do you treat me that way?
Why do you shut down like that?
Why won’t you do the things I asked you to do?
What’s wrong with us?
No matter how hard we try to be different
from our families (mainly our parents), we will repeat many of their
behaviors throughout our marriage. It is important for couples to
discuss with each other how their families behave in different
circumstances, and explore reasons why. Couples then need to talk about
how they would like to handle things in their own relationship. This
will most likely involve a lot of compromise and will be something that
couples will work on throughout their marriage.
Part of having a meaningful and enjoyable
marriage is having an awareness of each other’s family culture. From
there, couples can develop their very own unique way of communicating
that incorporates positive aspects from both families, and hopefully
filters out unwanted patterns.
Source: Familyresource.com
For Your Health
Meditation is being embraced within
the medical circles as a powerful healing tool.
A study in the journal
Psychosomatic Medicine reports meditation affects areas of the
brain focused on emotion and also strengthens the ability to ward off
illnesses.
Harvard Medical School
experts say the key to the relaxation response is repetition. The
repetition can be a word, sound, mantra, prayer, breathing or
movement. They say any disease made worse by stress can improve with
meditation.
Source: (CNN) --
Friday, April
4, 2003 Posted: 3:53 PM EST (2053 GMT)
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"Freedom" of Press in Iraq?
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British forces
detained Al-Jazeera TV correspondent Mohammad Al-Sayed Mohsen on
Sunday in the Iraqi city of Basra where he is covering the
US-led occupation.
Two British
armored vehicles approached the crew as they were preparing a
report in the Tanouma area on the eastern bank of the Shatt
Al-Arab River and asked to see their press cards. Mohsen said a
British soldier “became furious” when he read the cards, issued
from the Iraqi Information Ministry, and confiscated his camera.
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The Al-Jazeera
correspondent said it was the third time British forces had
harassed him.
Weapons were
pointed at Mohsen and his driver. The Al-Jazeera correspondent
said the British soldier said US-led forces “were dealing only
with listed journalists who accompanied coalition forces.”
They were
escorted to a British camp where a soldier addressed them in
Arabic and told them they would not be allowed to work in the
area until further notice.
Mohsen said
the soldier repeatedly asked him how he could be an Iraqi and be
working for Al-Jazeera.
The New York-based Committee to Protect
Journalists condemned the arrest. “For US-led forces to detain a
journalist working in Iraq is a violation of press freedom and
coalition forces are obligated to respect the right of
journalists of all outlets to work in the country,” said
spokesman Frank Smyth.
The crew was
released after three hours.
Source:
http://english.aljazeera.net/
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