Sons of Abraham
Isaac and Ishmael
Living in the holy land
Palestine and Israel
Both have a charter
Each has a deal
Sharing a simple meal.
Together
Forever
Can we see some peace?
With land to each a piece.
Swarms of hordes
And crusading conquerors
Pitting the two brothers
Against each other
For land olives oil
Raping the mothers
Of crusading conquerors
Claiming covenant as their own.
Will we see some peace?
To own and not to lease.
Hagar and Sarah
Could have been sisters
Couldn't have
More blisters
Standing by
Their misters
Each with a womb of her own.
Shalom Alechem
Salaam Alikum
Nobody eats the pig.
Salaam Alechem
Shalom Alikum
The pig controls the rig.
Brothers
Time to quit the jig.
copyright © 2006 K. Shain
Reuters has published some great photos from the Mid-East tour. Here are a couple I rather like:
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (R) meets with Israeli President Simon Peres in Jerusalem, July 23, 2008.
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama rekindles the eternal flame, commemorating the six million Jews killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust, during his visit to the Yad Vashem Memorial in Jerusalem July 23, 2008.
See more and read article here: Obama assures Israel he's a friend
Dear Barack Obama
I would like to write to you about the ‘Celtic Tiger’ and what this could mean for peace in the Middle East . As you know, the Celtic Tiger was a period of rapid economic growth in Ireland . In just one decade, from the early 1990s to early 2000, Ireland was transformed from being one of the poorest countries in Europe to one of the richest. During exactly that time, the IRA announced a cessation of military operations. As a result, Ireland went from being a poor and violent country to a rich and peaceful country. It is not a big surprise that poverty brings violence and wealth brings peace. What is a surprise is that no one seems to be learning from this lesson. What caused the Celtic Tiger? This is debated but probably was a result low corporate tax rate and financial investment from the EU. The combination of these two factors increased the number of jobs and the income levels of the Irish population. What I would like to see is a similar program put into place to increase the economic environment of instable countries of the mid-East. This should start with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a territory with population of approximately 4 million, very similar to the population of Ireland . Programs that I would like to see would include: * Give businesses incentive to create jobs in Palestine.* Turn Palestine into a tax free industry zone. Offer Products produced in Palestine tax free import into Europe and the USA. * Offer US and European businesses that start companies and create jobs tax breaks on their US and European corporate taxes. Train Palestinians* Create grants to advance education in Palestine * Encourage US and European universities to offer low cost or free positions to qualified Palestinian students. * Encourage US and European universities to build academic centers in the area. Build the infrastructure* Make Palestine an IT hub. Improve internet, satellite and telecommunication infrastructure.* Build a center of excellence for regional IT experts to come to Palestine and create a Palestinian Silicone Valley".
By creating an economic hub in Palestine and improving the business and economic opportunities, the west could turn Palestine from a training ground for Hamas to a traning ground for Microsoft, Google and other IT giants. Let's turn Palestine into an Arabic Tiger.
I just completed Brzezinski's latest book, Second Chance, trying to catch up on his thinking. I found it interesting to note how his perspective has adapted to the changing world situation over the past 40 years and that his earlier positions have now begun to give way to a broader, hopefully more responsible view of human history. His appeal to Obama is understandable, if only to provide Barack with some back story. In fact, it appears that this book was written for the primary purpose of marketing his considerable intellect and analytical prowess to a presidential candidate such as Obama, in effect giving both himself and the US a "second chance."
But to utilize this resource most effectively, Sen. Obama needs to surround himself with people who can help mine, mind and encourage the extraction of those usable portions of Dr. Brzezinski's work and not assist him in the adoption of his entire system en toto. In many respects, try as he may, Dr. Brzezinski will never really be able to erase his own fingerprints from the file; he can only explain how and why they got there, something that he does not do in this book. Perhaps this is the role that Samantha Power was called upon to play in advising Senator Obama; to serve as a counterbalancing influence to a fairly heavy handed global agenda. Still, more analysis is needed.
Sadly, some of the more valuable and dynamic notions that he introduced in Between Two Ages were not carried forward. This may be due to the fact that advancing them was no longer necessary, given the end of the cold war. The decline of dialectical and historical materialism as a philosophical system and method of historical analysis has rendered Dr. Brzezinski's more important contributions moot, not because they no longer have any value but because their introduction was no longer necessary. This is a shame because I believe that Dr. Brzezinski's true claim to history should be based on some the very creative ideas that he developed en route to the plans that he was able to put into play, not those plans themselves that, in large part, have proven disastrous. This is important because it would arm Obama with significantly greater ideological weapons with which to wage the war of ideas in his campaign for the presidency and in his subsequent administration than the ones Dr. Brzezinski has provided so far. Perhaps I will be called upon to share my insights and where my humble but vital corrections to Dr. Brzezinski's theses and courses might be applied to both the Obama campaign and presidency. Until that time, The Grand Chessboard awaits.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/28/clinton-obama-duel-keeps-rocking/#comment-156193
When are the mainstream media going to start analyzing how Hillary's support for the war will cripple her ability to be effective in the Middle East?
Only Obama will have the credibility to lead any kind of regional negotiations. Not to mention that Barack Hussein Obama is the only candidate who has lived in a Muslim country, and moreover during his formative childhood years.
Are we ready to talk to the Muslims, or are we still trying to punish them for 9/11? When we're finally ready to talk, experienced legislator, negotiator and constructive compromiser Barack is obviously our only realistic hope for a breakthrough.
We have been given this gift to get us out of the mess we have gotten ourselves into. If we don't accept it, we can expect the worst.
