This video says all I can think of.
http://www.youtube.com/user/divajc#p/u/14/28KppgdX4qc
Love and music,
Diva JC
From a Romanian Newspaper
We rarely get a chance to see another country's editorial about the USA
Read this excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper. The article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title 'C'ntarea Americii, meaning 'Ode To America ') in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei 'The Daily Event' or 'News of the Day'.~An Ode to America ~ Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs.On 9/ll, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the Army, or the Secret Service that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts.. Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about. Instead the Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand. After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing. On every occasion, they started singing: 'God Bless America !' I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people. How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put into collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy. What on earth can unites the Americans in such way? Their land? Their history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace, I thought things over, I reached but only one conclusion... Only freedom can work such miracles. Cornel Nistorescu (This deserves to be passed around the Internet forever.) It took a person on the outside - looking in - to see what we take for granted !
GOD BLESS AMERIC A !!!
What happened to the Obama we were promised during the campaign? For those of you who have forgotten, an Obama Presidency was supposed to initiate a new direction for our country--a new embrace of the underlying principles upon which this nation was built. And after his first week in office, it seemed that he might just deliver on that promise. Since then, there has been one reversal after another. The release of the OLC memos notwithstanding, virtually every decision this administration has made after those first few days in office would have been no different had GWB still been in office. Consider three of the more recent betrayals of his stances during the campaign:
WASHINGTON (CNN) "It is an honor to be here: a place where Lincoln served, was inaugurated, and where the nation he saved bid him a last farewell," Obama said at the Capitol on Thursday.
"As we mark the bicentennial of our 16th president's birth, I cannot claim to know as much about his life and works as many who are also speaking today, but I can say that I feel a special gratitude to this singular figure who in so many ways made my own story possible -- and who in so many ways made America's story possible."
Thank you President Abraham Lincoln for helping to make President Obama's story possible.
On the Playing Field –
Intensity and Integrity
By Jacqueline Brannon Giles
My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Psalm 45:1
The coach tells a player to go out there on the playing field and catch that ball, get a touchdown, and complete that “Hail Mary” pass. The player does it and he does it so well and so often during his career that his numbers stand out even in the 21st century. Who was that player with intensity and player integrity—the kind of player whose results have taken many years to exceed. His name is Warren Wells.
Take a good look at the players’ averages and tell me what you see. During the first five years of Warren Wells’ career his averages were better than some of the Super Bowl 43 wide receivers. For example, if you compare Wells (1), Fitzgerald (2), Rice (3) and Boldin (4), clearly Wells’ average exceeds the others during the first five years. Respectively, their numbers are:
23.1
14.9
14.8
11.7
Senior Wide Receiver during the First Five Years
WR Year** Avg TDs
John Gilliam 67 (1) 12.0 1
Gary Garrison 66 (1) 14.0 4*
Warren Wells 64 (1) 10.5 0
John Gilliam 68 (2) 11.8 0
Gary Garrison 67 (2) 17.5 2
Warren Wells 67 (2) 23.2 6*
John Gilliam 69 (3) 19.2 9
Gary Garrison 68 (3) 21.2 10
Warren Wells 68 (3) 21.5 11*
John Gilliam 70 (4) 21.2 5
Gary Garrison 69 (4) 20.1 9
Warren Wells 69 (4) 26.8 14*
John Gilliam 71 (5) 19.9 3
Gary Garrison 70 (5) 22.9 12*
Warren Wells 70 (5) 21.5 11
Note 1: * means peak during the ordinal year.
Note 2: **Ordinal data for first five years in professional football
Source: http://www.databasesports.com/
A Baseline Comparison
In September 2002 Paul Zimmerman is quoted: Hayes began to make his mark on the NFL as soon as he arrived: He led the league with 21.8 yards per catch in his rookie season, and he sustained that career average of 20 yards per reception, a figure few players even approach nowadays for a single season. The zone defense had existed in the NFL before his arrival, but it was crude by today's standards, and Hayes could destroy that kind of coverage the same way he did man-to-man alignments. So coaches came up with a double zone to try to control him. A cornerback would play him tight as he came off the line—in those days defenders could do anything they wanted to a receiver, except grab and hold—and another defensive back would pick him up deep. Or coaches would assign the deepest defensive back, usually the free safety, to make sure he stayed behind Hayes, which opened up vast areas underneath. No other player caused that kind of strategic overhaul of the defensive game.
Zimmerman continued, That alone should have earned Hayes a spot in Canton, but in 1979, two years before he became eligible for enshrinement, he was sentenced to five years in prison for selling narcotics; he was paroled after serving 10 months. His alcohol and drug problems were a shock to those who knew him. He was a decent, forthright person with...well, major problems. But that was enough to keep him out of Canton, even though, according to the guidelines, a candidate should be judged solely on the basis of his performance on the field.
By the 1990s he was no longer a modern Hall of Fame candidate. He had been relegated to the Seniors pool, which can yield only one candidate a year and sometimes produces none.
"The situation with Bob Hayes and the Hall of Fame is one of the most tragic stories I've ever been associated with during my time in professional football," said Tex Schramm, the Cowboys' former president and general manager. But Schramm was a one-man selection committee for the Cowboys' Ring of Honor, and he never admitted Hayes. Jerry Jones, the team's owner since 1989, didn't admit Hayes until last year.
Based on Performance
The reality of the quote is that the HOF is to select a candidate and judge a candidate solely on the basis of his performance on the field. So when a player delivers on the playing field, so then the HOF must deliver in accordance with the guidelines, otherwise the integrity issues arise.
For example, just as Zimmerman noted that Hayes “led the league with 21.8 yards per catch in his rookie season, the data shows that Wells was outstanding during his rookie year with Oakland, with 23.2 yards per catch. Furthermore, the year before Wells attained this number, he was in the military in Alaska, serving his country after being drafted into the U. S. Army. He willingly served his country although that service caused a gap in his professional football career.
Wells’ overall average exceeds Hayes. In fact, his average is well above the 2009 Super Bowl wide receivers.
If we compare Wells with Hayes, a conjecture would be that Hayes had speed and Wells had speed on the playing field. Zimmerman said that the defensive strategy had to change to control or stop Hayes, and a reasonable conjecture is that it had to change to stop Warren Wells, too.
It’s about time we exhume the records and take a good look, rather microscopic in nature, to study the DNA of the situation. Innocent oversight is one thing; but intent to overlook excellent performance on the football field is not acceptable in the 21st century. The power of a critical eye, and the power of the media will have to be blended to jointly reconsider the performance on the field and come into compliance with the HOF guidelines.
Another important point for rebuttal is career length. The argument can be discussed in the context of the average career length of an NFL player. According to research, we have: “The average career of an NFL player is 3 1/2 seasons according to the NFLPA.”
The amazing fact about Wells’ career is that he made history during an intense five year career and his career length exceeds that of the average NFL player, and his length has qualified him for his NFL benefits, so why not give him his glory commensurate with his mark on history.
I am reminded of how heartbroken I was as valedictorian of a class in 1961 and the committee who had the power to award the one scholarship that I sought and was qualified to receive, made a political decision to give the scholarship to someone else. Similarly, can you imagine the depression of someone who knows that he gave his best on the football field, but was not judged for the content of his character on the field in accordance to the HOF guidelines? Just as the Obama campaign promised change so there must be change in how we honor those who did their best on the job, on the field, yet have been overlooked so long that some of them are finally recognized posthumously.
Hayes passed away in 2002, and 7 years later he is being honored. Wells is 66 years old, alive and well in his hometown, and he needs to be honored for his performance on the field in a game that gave him joy and a place to excel. As a child before he was eight years old, Warren Wells and his family lived on a plantation in near Franklin, Louisiana. What great heights he attained after such a humble beginning which reminds us of the struggles for freedom, dignity and justice for all in America.
In 1999 Pope John Paul honored Galileo 359 years after his death—the Catholic Church failed to recognize its error in judging Galileo and it took years to correct the flawed thinking.
Henry Flipper, the first black man to graduate West Point was overlooked and falsely accused, yet the strength and integrity of President William Jefferson Clinton addressed the errors and corrected them, thereby restoring honor to Mr. Flipper who was honored in a Presidential ceremony in the Twentieth century. This article sets forth a proposal to set the record straight, do the research and find all of those who have been overlooked and suppressed by selective exposure. It is time for change.
For example, Henry Flipper suffered ill-judgment, but President William Jefferson Clinton erased the cloud around his honorable achievements. Research indicates,
Clearing His Name--It was the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s and a concerted effort by historians to tell the story of all Americans that brought attention to the circumstances surrounding Flippers dismissal. The case was reviewed by the Army Board for Correction of Military records. In late 1976, the board changed Flipper's dismissal to an honorable discharge. While acknowledging that Flipper had falsified reports and lied to his commanding officer, the board ruled that the sentence of the court and its approval by the president was ". . . unduly harsh, and therefore unjust."In the1999 Executive Grant of Clemency, President Clinton granted "a full and unconditional pardon to Lieutenant Henry Ossian Flipper." Source: http://www.africanamericans.com/HenryFlipper.htm
There are numerous examples of “unduly harsh and unjust” acts in world history and American history. Similar oversights and injustices have impacted the lives of professional athletes, some of whom were from very modest sociocultural backgrounds before they achieved on the professional football field.. In many cases, the legal, political and media support systems were not in place to uphold and defend the good in their careers on the field, thereby leaving them to become overlooked and plagued by “hearsay” rather than by rigorous research to present the data to characterize their impact on the playing field.
A contemporary example of performance on the football field is Santonio Holmes, the Super Bowl XLIII MVP, who has several off the field challenges yet we must respect his data. During his second year in professional football his 18.1 Y/R (2007) average is outstanding, but it was exceeded by Wells in 1969.
Let’s us take a good look, and let us exercise an intense passion for truth, clearer perceptions, and let us recognize men and women for their performance on the field.
Student Project for Calculus
For this project, we compared the “greatness” of two very talented football players, Jerry Rice and Warren Wells. To do this, we examined a list on rankings for several categories. We then took this information and created a graph for each player.
We decided that we could determine the area under the curve and that the player with the largest total area would be “the greatest.” To do this, we divided the graph into sections and determined the area of each section and then took the sum of the sections.
We took the first two ordered pairs, for Jerry Rice that was (5, 27) and (10,27).
We used these to find the slope:
m= (y2-y1)/(x2-x1) = (27-27)/(10-5)= 0/5= 0
We then plugged the slope and the first ordered pair into the slope-intercept formula:
y-y1=m(x-x1)
y-27= 0(x-5)
y= 27
To get the area under the curve, we next took the integral of the equation we just got:
∫05 y dy
∫05 (27)
27x ]05
((27)(5))-((27)(0))
135
The following is a list of the sets of ordered pairs we used:
Jerry Rice:
(5,27) (10,27)
(10,27) (15,13)
(15,13) (20,29)
(20,29) (25,32)
(25,32) (30,27)
(30,27) (35,33)
(35,33) (40,28)
(40,28) (45,29)
(45,29) (50,6)
Warren Wells:
(5,6) (10,10)
(10,10) (15,33)
(15,33) (20,28)
(20,28) (25,28)
(25,28) (30,33)
(30,33) (35,29)
(35,29) (40,10)
(40,10) (45,28)
(45,28) (50,11)
The total areas we calculated were:
Jerry Rice =1177.4
Warren Wells =1047.5
Therefore, we concluded that Jerry Rice is overall the greater of these two football players.
Note: This project is suitable for precalculus, using the area of trapezoids and rectangles.
Online access
Barack Obama and Joe Biden: The Change We Need | J Benton Grimmett ...
By Jacqueline Brannon Giles. The coach tells a player to go out there on the playing field and catch that ball, get a touchdown, and complete that “Hail ...my.barackobama.com/page/community/person/ggTGk - 76k - Cached - Similar pages
Vision - Potential : Number 84, September 2008
In the three categories for "Rushing" Warren Wells, Don Hutson and Jerry Rice all rank No. 1. Hutson, the first NFL wide receiver, dominates "Yards/Game" ...www.contemporarycollegealgebra.org/newsletters/84Sep08.html - 22k - Cached - Similar pages
Student Project for Calculus 2
File Format: Microsoft Word - View as HTMLme in the hallway at Texas Southern is Warren Wells. He became a professional football player, ... the NFL or on his career. On May 18, 2008, however, a ...www.victoryintheword.us/files/Take_a_Good_Look_Math.doc - Similar pages
Feb 7, 2009 ... His name is Warren Wells.Take a good look at the players’ averages ... According to research, we have: “The average career of an NFL player ...my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/jackiegiles/gGx2rK - 42k - Cached - Similar pages
YES WE DID! YES WE MUST:
Þ Protect him from harm both verbal & phyiscal
Þ Stay "FIRED UP" by staying active
Þ Work Bi-Partisan to bring "Change" together
Þ Don't just bitch, get active and stay engaged
Þ Start and join a local "Change" group
Þ Be philanthropic, serve your community, state and nation
Þ Stick by Obama, STOP smears on the Right & the Left!!!! Hold yourself responsible as you hold Barack!
Join the future of this movement!!
http://change.gov/joinus
http://www.communityorganize.com
http://www.ourpresidency.com
http://www.usaservice.org
http://www.whitehouse.gov
Barack's DNC 2004 Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWynt87PaJ0&feature=PlayList&p=B1939005B8A4D4ED&index=188
Barack's DNC 2008 Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ato7BtisXzE&feature=channel
Barack’s Election Acceptance Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wJ-2Zu_Iic&feature=channel
Barack’s Inauguration Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjnygQ02aW4
Only 1 more day before history is made. President-Elect Obama will soon be President Obama. Has a nice ring to it after suffering through the worst 8 years in my lifetime, or my parent for that matter. I can't wait to watch the swearing in, I only wish I could be there. I am so glad to have had a chance to work on a great campaign and meet some new friends. Now I look forward to working even harder to help make the changes needed in government. Thanks, "President-Elect" Obama for giving us all hope again. We can now walk with our heads held high as we move into the future. Hope doesn't seem that important until you have none.
'
We asked for change with the Obama campaign at what seemed like a lifetime ago. With the New Year comes the change we all voted for. 2009 is going to be a tough year with the economy in the tank, crisis in the Middle East, and people losing their jobs and their retirement. President Obama is going to have his hands full but I believe in the change he has promised. With President Obama coming into office in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the great depression; it's going to take years to dig out of everything this great country faces.
I can only hope people on boh sides of the aisle will give President Obama the time he needs to work out these issues. We as American's have a duty to get behind the man we voted for and help in any way we can. Change is going to include all of us, President Obama is one man with the backing of millions and he will need our continued support. Some people jump on the bandwagon when times are going great and fall by the wayside when the real work begins. We can't afford to lose a single person if the change is going to happen.
Many of us started working with the campaign before President elect Obama even had a viable campaign. We believed all the way through New Hampshire and Iowa and we continue to believe. Please people, the job isn't over, we must continue the fight. Don't sit back and say "we got the job done, Obama is President." I myself will do whatever I can do to help fight for the Obama policies and will campaign to remove anyone in Congress that tries to obstruct the change vital to a new beginning.
The other side of the aisle as well as a few on the left just don't want to see change in Washington. The government doesn't like change, it scares them and they will fight to stop it. One way we can help President Obama to make the changes he promised is to continue to work hard. Millions of you stood as one during the campaign, we will need to continue to stand as one to show Congress we are serious. If Congress sees any cracks in our work for President Obama they will try and divide us and that will give them a chance to destroy all the hard work we did to get President Obama elected. As ONE WE CAN NOT LOSE, DIVIDED WE WILL FALL.
Enjoy the next few days with your families and celebrate the new year. Soon we will need to focus on all the things that change will bring with it. Stay involved locally and if asked stand up and work nationally if necessary. The hard work is on all our shoulders and combined we are un-stoppable. I hope everyone has a great holiday season and a wonderful new year. Thanks to everyone who was involved with the campaign and I look forward to working with anyone who wants to continue the job. January 20th is the day we have all looked forward to. January 20th is the new begining.
Thanks for everything,
Robert Strunk
Bloomington Indiana
after hearing that barrack invited prop8 pastor rick warren to give the invocation at his inauguration, i am canceling my trip to D.C. anyone who compares same sex marriage to incest or pedophilia does not belong on the same stage with a president who is SUPPOSEDLY dedicating his presidency to change!!!
i'm pissed off and i'm definitely not going to drive 13 hours (each way) to stand in the cold and cheer you on. i'm not going to walk door-to-door, in the snow, hundreds of miles from my own home, to get people out to vote for you when you run for re-election. i'm probably not even going to vote for you again. you have lost my faith. i no longer believe in you.
f you barrack!!!
jason girard (former obama volunteer and supporter)
[I must provide text for my post. Future will decide WHAT!]
Indian officials have said the siege at Mumbai's Taj Mahal hotel is over, after the last few militants were killed.
Mumbai police commissioner Hassan Gafoor told the AFP news agency: "All combat operations are over. All the terrorists have been killed."
===========Dear friends all the terrorists killed, or killed humanity!!! Who we are!!! Why this shameless attack!!! Let the terrorist know they are not human, they are not any mans relative. ===== We MORUN.
M K Rubel
World Peace Pray with Obama, activity
http://www.YesForObama.tk
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Politics
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=57627371872
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorldPeacePraywithObama
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/mahmudulkarim
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsxysf
Shepherd Bush said “Nuclear threat, nuclear threat from Iraq” but in real no threat from Iraq. Many dream, many lives lost in this so called battlefield. It’s one man WAR against the world, against America. Children’s, old peoples, disabilities, women’s, students, the men who don’t believe War died in this unnecessary WAR. The modern Hitler Bush, the shepherd Bush is a WAR criminal. Don’t you think his past years must be justified?
Two men were sitting down under a tree. One believes in GOD his name is “X” and another one is “Y” he does not believes in GOD, he thinks heaven and hell does not exist. Mr. “X” spends some time for GOD, for good work, for humanity, he is happy with his limited. Mr. “Y” has no time for GOD, but often he spends time for humanity. He is not happy what he has, he want more and more. Mr. “Y” was laughing.
Mr. “X” asked; why you laughing?
Mr. “Y” answered; I am laughing at you.
Mr. “X” asked; why?
Mr. “Y” answered; I am laughing because you are spending your valuable time for GOD, for heaven, which will give you nothing.
Mr. “Y” thought something very deeply and asked to Mr. “X”
Mr. “Y” asked; tell me one thing Mr. “X” after death if you see there is no GOD, no heaven then what you will do hahahaha?????
Mr. “X” answered; after your death if you see there is GOD and hell!!!!!!
I got 75 emails (Nov 11th 2008)from all over the World about “World Peace Pray with Obama”. Thank you all for kind mails. 73 people agree with this event want to attend, some of them wrote nice word to me. I am great full to them. 1 mailer not sure about GOD and Pray, another one sure here is no GOD everything happens by work. Obama the President of United States America, new Leader of this world elected by vote, pray helped nothing it’s another mailers writing. I wrote this story for them. What do you say friends!!! This World Peace Pray will not cost a BIG. Its just a pray for peace to let know the World we do think about peace, we want to live in peace. World Peace Pray with Obama
M K RubelWorld Peace Pray with Obama, activity
Or
[Respect them who loves you, love them who hates you]
Digital HistoryIn January 1935, Congress created the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Roosevelt's program employed 3.5 million workers at a "security wage"--
Harry Hopkins, one of Roosevelt's most trusted advisors, asked why the federal government could not simply hire the unemployed and put them to work. Reluctantly, Roosevelt agreed. [Source]
If you ask the feds, they'll quote you a figure of 8.7 million people, for an almost-respectable unemployment rate of 5.9 percent. But let's add in all the people who are working part time because they can't find fulltime work, and the ones who've given up on trying to find a job. When you add these 6.4 million people to the ones counted in the official numbers, you get a pretty dismal unemployment rate of 9.7 percent. [Source]
I suggest that President-Elect Obama revisit the WPA program to establish jobs to create a NATIONAL RAILWAY SERVICE that would connect cities in all states across America and into Canada and Mexico. Since our borders are already breaking down, this would create jobs in many different fields: construction, building engineers, train engineers, porters, ticket takers, border control officers, ticket sales, public relations. Of course, this is a HUGE endeavor, but it would also reduce pollution from auto emissions, cars on the road, the need for fuel, while uniting our nation.
Instead of pumping money into the auto industry, that lump sum could be applied to improving transit systems across the nation. I know, from experience that the Metro System in South Florida really needs improvement. AMTRAK is as expensive as some airlines, which is way off-base, but probably due to the lack of patronage. The transit system in New York is always in need of repair, but I found the Long Island Railroad to be efficient, when I used it from JFK to Penn Station, in October 2008.
The Japanese and French have "fast trains" that get people from point A to point B in a minimal amount of time. The Bullet Train in Japan, one of the first countries to realise the problems of the car. Created the bullet train, which lead to Europe taking interest in making trains go fast. The fares are affordable. For eight years, I traveled throughout Europe in the nineties and it was a pleasure to ride the trains in UK, France, Switzerland and Italy.
Obama should appoint a delegate of advisors to work with transit authorities in these countries to create the best possible solution to a growing crisis in the United States, transportation, thus, developing a means of employing even more than the 9.7% of people out of work, today, and providing a means of continual employment for generations to come.
Sincerely,
Joan Cartwright
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Olmert: Israel must return to 1967 borders
(Haaretz)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1036118.html
By Shahar Ilan and Nadav Shragai
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert took advantage of yesterday's special Knesset marking the 13th anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin to call for territorial withdrawals in all disputed areas and to denounce violence on the part of Jewish settlers. "We must give up Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem and return to the core of the territory that is the State of Israel prior to 1967, with minor corrections dictated by the reality created since then," he said.
"Many Israelis viciously beat up Palestinians seeking to harvest olives as they have for centuries, and there is no end [to it]. Young Israelis, smitten by messianic dreams, hit our soldiers, breaking their bones and threatening their lives, and no one stops them," Olmert said. "I will not permit this to continue," he promised. Olmert also said that, "Every government will need to tell the truth, which unfortunately will require us to tear out many parts of the homeland in Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem and the Golan Heights." Addressing the settlers, he said: "You, too, will have do carry out a moral reckoning and reach a decision." The National Union-National Religious Party Knesset whip Uri Ariel and fellow party MK Aryeh Eldad left the plenum in protest. "We cannot tolerate the fact that a failed prime minister, who is accused of corruption, uses the little free time he has left between police interviews to call for the destruction of the Jewish settlement enterprise in Israel," Eldad said. Likud whip Gideon Sa'ar accused Olmert of "cynically exploiting a state ceremony for a political speech in the spirit of the extreme left." Three hours earlier, Foreign Minister and Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni told a meeting of party MKs that "the murder of a prime minister in Israel must not be a subject of political disputes. [Rabin] was the prime minister of us all." Yesterday was the last day of deliberations in the Knesset plenum before the election hiatus. Party whips postponed the dissolution of the Knesset session by a few days in order to hold the Rabin memorial. The denunciation of attacks by Jewish settlers on Israel Defense Forces soldiers and pointed criticism of the media for conducting interviews with Rabin's killer, Yigal Amir, dominated yesterday's Knesset deliberations. "We cannot tolerate the calls being heard today to hurt the prime minister or IDF soldiers. We will take immediate action against lawbreakers and inciters," opposition leader and Likud Chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset. Knesset Speaker MK Dalia Itzik (Labor) said she was astonished by the competition between the television networks over broadcasting the interview with Amir. "The name of the despicable murderer must not be mentioned among us," Itzik said. "This is not an issue of freedom of expression, rather it's an attempt by the murderer to win legitimacy. Let him rot in prison, don't give him a stage, throw him into the garbage pail of history." In large measure Olmert's Knesset speech yesterday echoed his remarks at the state memorial for Rabin earlier in the day at Jerusalem's Mt. Herzl, where Rabin is buried. He called for giving up Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and returning to the 1967 borders, with slight amendments. "We have no choice but to give up, with great torment, parts of our homeland of which we dreamed for generations of yearning and prayers," Olmert said. "For a generation an increasingly sharp disagreement has been raging in Israel over what should be here. Since the murder the dispute has only become fiercer. "Rabin was not thrilled about the decision, he was tormented before Oslo, he hesitated about the agreement and was filled with doubt even after making a decision - not out of illusions or false hopes - but rather he decided to go in a direction that more and more people today are willing to accept," Olmert said. President Shimon Peres addressed recent settler violence in his remarks at Mt. Herzl. "There is a small minority of reckless, unrestrained people who boldly defy the state's authority, attack Palestinians just for being Palestinian and challenge the law-enforcement mechanisms that, among others, protect them, too. "We must isolate and expel this violent and dangerous minority," Peres added, "and we mustn't be silent in the face of their incitement. We cannot tolerate the acts of vandalism and violence. It is as though they are a state within a state. It is the responsibility of the state to carry out justice without fear - the honor of Israel and the strength of its democracy and lawfulness depends on it."
Maya's Adventures!!
This is a quick update to let you all know: 1) I am loving life2) I am loving my job3) I am loving Tokyo4) I am loving my apartment5) I am loving Obama I've had several friends and family email me to be sure I vote. I just mailed it in. so if Obama doesn't win (oh my gosh, I think my heart just stopped at the thought) you all know it wasnt my fault! I'm not sure I should be publishing who I voted for on my blog but...well, this election is possibly the only election where I have no reserves whatsoever as to who to vote for. As in, no, I never thought Bush would be a good president, but was I completely certain about Kerry? I'm not sure. Now Obama? no doubts whatsoever. Part of it could be my Aunt who is over 60 and now insanely interested in and somewhat crazy about the election. (sorry AB for saying your age!) but as my mother said, it's admirous to be able to get so involved at (dare I say it) such an age. So, we have a future leader in America (finally). Lastly, as much as I have faith and hope in Obama as a leader, I fear for what will happen once he becomes president. The amount of hope and faith people have put in him is astounding. The expectations are incredible. Fact is, he's not going to be able to live up to all of these expectations. No human could live up to all of the expectations. So, what's going to happen when he disappoints the supporters?
by maya regina | 2008-10-08 12:53 | Comments(0)
