"...after meeting with Hamas representatives in Cairo and being familiarized with the situation in Gaza Carter joined other world humanitarian leaders such as Nelson Mandella, Desmond Tutu, and all UN Human Rights representatives in describing the situation in Gaza as a crime and an atrocity. He said “It’s an atrocity what is being perpetrated as punishment on the people in Gaza. It’s a crime …I think it is an abomination that this continues to go on … Palestinians in Gaza are being starved to death”. Arab leaders should take a notice from Carter on how to defend their Palestinian brothers rather than contributing to their starvation."

"If we, the Israelis, want to consolidate our nation, we have to free ourselves from the myths that belong to another form of existence and re-define our national history. The story about the exodus from Egypt is good as a myth and an allegory - it celebrates the value of freedom - but we must recognize the difference between myth and history, between religion and nation, between a Diaspora and a state, in order to find our place in the region in which we live and develop a normal relationship with the neighboring peoples."

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) has taken a lot of hits during his campaign for the White House. What scares folks about this guy? I went to hear him speak, on April 14, 2008, at Goucher College, Towson, MD. Unlike some dubious liberals in the Congress, Rep. Paul voted against the USA Patriot Act. He also wants to end the Iraq War and bring the troops home, now; and to dismantle America’s global empire before it bankrupts the country. Sounds like Ralph Nader to me!

"By the mid-90's journalism had become a dangerous business and as Kashmir slipped further into chaos so did its media. News content was regularly replaced by rival statements and over a dozen local newspapers were reduced to propaganda tools by the conflicting sides. The Indian government attempted to lure Delhi-based media to fill the vacuum, tarring Kashmiri publications as 'broadsheets of militancy,' perhaps because over three dozen separatist and government-backed armed groups prodded these newspapers to highlight their activities, preferably on the front page."

"...it is vital to recognize the major evolution that has taken place in recent years in Israel's grand strategic thinking regarding the Iranian threat. Iran--not Syria and not Palestine--is today the prism through which Israeli security planners look at the region, its permutations and the threats it presents. Any effort at either war or peace with Syria is directed against Iran. The non-state Islamist actors Hizballah and Hamas represent Iranian footholds on Israel's borders and on the shores of the Mediterranean. Israeli-Egyptian cooperation regarding Hamas relates to Iran."

"Since this growing tension and its negative consequences on Palestinian-Israeli relations are part of the general regional polarization, the best hope of reversing this situation comes from a new American approach to the region when the next administration takes office. But any cosmetic or partial measures will not halt the deterioration. A new regional US approach that includes reversing the growing American presence and hegemony coupled with adherence to international law and an avoidance of double standards is called for. This may allow a regional environment to develop that is more conducive to improving Syrian-Israel as well as Palestinian-Israeli relations."

On April 8, 2008, John J. Sweeney said in Baltimore, MD, that the country is going down the tubes and dragging working class people with it. He’s the head of the national AFL-CIO. He added that in November: “We have an opportunity to reverse these awful trends.” On May 1, 2008, West coast dockworkers are calling a work stoppage to protest the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Perhaps, Mr. Sweeney will join them on the picket line. Stay tuned.

"Perhaps most egregiously, the U.S. Congress failed to stand up for American citizen Rachel Corrie and her family after Corrie was crushed to death in the Gaza Strip by a Caterpillar D-9 bulldozer. The timidity of American officials regarding Corrie's death and the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians and Lebanese undercuts American standing in the world and creates a dramatic rift between American law and its implementation. Both Democrats and Republicans have failed to apply the law where Israel is concerned. Consequently, Israeli officials take increasing liberties in using American firepower on the field of battle-and in civilian neighborhoods."