join now| sign in| help
Search advanced search
 
Books
Search:

Request Friendship
Send Request Cancel

Karen

Karen

At our house the nest is nearly empty. Two years ago, I stepped out on faith and began writing. All my life has been a love affair with words, writing, and books. Through reading, I feel the universe is mine! (No evil laugh needed here.)

So many books, tsk, tsk, tsk, so little time. more »
  • GA, U.S.A.
  • member since August 1 2007

Groups

Friends

Reading Timeline

Previous Button Next Button
     
Plan to Read Reading Now I've Read

Public Notes

  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    dear,



    thank you very much for your great and kind message. you are a great lady of America and you are a free lancer and a great writer as well. welcome with your kind remarks. yours, khan. waiting!!!!!!!!!!!peace to all.""

    posted 8 months ago. ( send a note )
  • rclark

    rclark says

    Hi Karen, we have several new posts in The Christian Pulse group. Be sure and check them out. You'll find some cool opportunities there.

    posted 8 months ago. ( send a note )
  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    dear,



    oh great lady why are you so absent ?yours, khan. waiting!!!!!!!!!

    posted 9 months ago. ( send a note )
  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    dear,



    come to God is one.""that is my group. yours, khan. waiting!!!!!!!!!!!!

    posted 9 months ago. ( send a note )
  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    dear,



    why are you not coming on my page and in my discussions please. yours, khan. waiting!!!!!!!!!!

    posted 9 months ago. ( send a note )
  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    dear,



    Oh great lady with a lot of qualities. yours, khan. waiting !!!!!!!!!!!!

    posted 9 months ago. ( send a note )
  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    DEAR,


    I KNOW THAT YOU ARE BUSY . THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOURS, KHAN. WAITING !!!!!!!!!

    posted 10 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Mohammad R

    Mohammad R says

    cid:3F5444A02641431D895E0DC15E48D8A4@Raja



    http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n02/sieg01_.html



    Israel's Lies

    Henry Siegman

    London Review of Books

    January 29, 3009



    (Henry Siegman is a former national director of the American Jewish Congress and of the Synagogue Council of America).



    Western governments and most of the Western media have accepted a number of Israeli claims justifying the military assault on Gaza: that Hamas consistently violated the six-month truce that Israel observed and then refused to extend it; that Israel therefore had no choice but to destroy Hamas's capacity to launch missiles into Israeli towns; that Hamas is a terrorist organisation, part of a global jihadi network; and that Israel has acted not only in its own defence but on behalf of an international struggle by Western democracies against this network.



    I am not aware of a single major American newspaper, radio station or TV channel whose coverage of the assault on Gaza questions this version of events. Criticism of Israel's actions, if any (and there has been none from the Bush administration), has focused instead on whether the IDF's carnage is proportional to the threat it sought to counter, and whether it is taking adequate measures to prevent civilian casualties.



    Middle East peacemaking has been smothered in deceptive euphemisms, so let me state bluntly that each of these claims is a lie. Israel, not Hamas, violated the truce: Hamas undertook to stop firing rockets into Israel; in return, Israel was to ease its throttlehold on Gaza. In fact, during the truce, it tightened it further. This was confirmed not only by every neutral international observer and NGO on the scene but by Brigadier General (Res.) Shmuel Zakai, a former commander of the IDF's Gaza Division. In an interview in Ha'aretz on 22 December, he accused Israel's government of having made a 'central error' during the tahdiyeh, the six-month period of relative truce, by failing 'to take advantage of the calm to improve, rather than markedly worsen, the economic plight of the Palestinians of the Strip . . . When you create a tahdiyeh, and the economic pressure on the Strip continues,' General Zakai said, 'it is obvious that Hamas will try to reach an improved tahdiyeh, and t hat their way to achieve this is resumed Qassam fire . . . You cannot just land blows, leave the Palestinians in Gaza in the economic distress they're in, and expect that Hamas will just sit around and do nothing.'



    The truce, which began in June last year and was due for renewal in December, required both parties to refrain from violent action against the other. Hamas had to cease its rocket assaults and prevent the firing of rockets by other groups such as Islamic Jihad (even Israel's intelligence agencies acknowledged this had been implemented with surprising effectiveness), and Israel had to put a stop to its targeted assassinations and military incursions.



    This understanding was seriously violated on 4 November, when the IDF entered Gaza and killed six members of Hamas. Hamas responded by launching Qassam rockets and Grad missiles. Even so, it offered to extend the truce, but only on condition that Israel ended its blockade. Israel refused. It could have met its obligation to protect its citizens by agreeing to ease the blockade, but it didn't even try. It cannot be said that Israel launched its assault to protect its citizens from rockets. It did so to protect its right to continue the strangulation of Gaza's population.



    Everyone seems to have forgotten that Hamas declared an end to suicide bombings and rocket fire when it decided to join the Palestinian political process, and largely stuck to it for more than a year. Bush publicly welcomed that decision, citing it as an example of the success of his campaign for democracy in the Middle East. (He had no other success to point to.) When Hamas unexpectedly won the election, Israel and the US immediately sought to delegitimise the result and embraced Mahmoud Abbas, the head of Fatah, who until then had been dismissed by Israel's leaders as a 'plucked chicken'. They armed and trained his security forces to overthrow Hamas; and when Hamas -brutally, to be sure - pre-empted this violent attempt to reverse the result of the first honest

    democratic election in the modern Middle East, Israel and the Bush administration imposed the blockade.



    Israel seeks to counter these indisputable facts by maintaining that in withdrawing Israeli settlements from Gaza in 2005, Ariel Sharon gave Hamas the chance to set out on the path to statehood, a chance it refused to take; instead, it transformed Gaza into a launching-pad for firing missiles at Israel's civilian population. The charge is a lie twice over. First, for all its failings, Hamas brought to Gaza a level of law and order unknown in recent years, and did so without the large sums of money that donors showered on the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority. It eliminated the violent gangs and warlords who terrorised Gaza under Fatah's rule. Non-observant Muslims, Christians and other minorities have more religious freedom under Hamas rule than they would have in Saudi Arabia, for example, or under many other Arab regimes.



    The greater lie is that Sharon's withdrawal from Gaza was intended as a prelude to further withdrawals and a peace agreement. This is how Sharon's senior adviser Dov Weisglass, who was also his chief negotiator with the Americans, described the withdrawal from Gaza, in an interview with Ha'aretz in August 2004:



    What I effectively agreed to with the Americans was that part of the settlements [i.e. the major settlement blocks on the West Bank] would not be dealt with at all, and the rest will not be dealt with until the Palestinians turn into Finns . . . The significance [of the agreement with the US] is the freezing of the political process. And when you freeze that process, you prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and you prevent a discussion about the refugees, the borders and Jerusalem. Effectively, this whole package that is called the Palestinian state, with all that it entails, has been removed from our agenda indefinitely. And all this with [President Bush's] authority and permission . . . and the ratification of both houses of Congress.



    Do the Israelis and Americans think that Palestinians don't read the Israeli papers, or that when they saw what was happening on the West Bank they couldn't figure out for themselves what Sharon was up to?



    Israel's government would like the world to believe that Hamas launched its Qassam rockets because that is what terrorists do and Hamas is a generic terrorist group. In fact, Hamas is no more a 'terror organisation' (Israel's preferred term) than the Zionist movement was during its struggle for a Jewish homeland. In the late 1930s and 1940s, parties within the Zionist movement resorted to terrorist activities for strategic reasons.



    According to Benny Morris, it was the Irgun that first targeted civilians. He writes in Righteous Victims that an upsurge of Arab terrorism in 1937 'triggered a wave of Irgun bombings against Arab crowds and buses, introducing a new dimension to the conflict'. He also documents atrocities committed during the 1948-49 war by the IDF, admitting in a 2004 interview, published in Ha'aretz, that material released by Israel's Ministry of Defence showed that 'there were far more Israeli acts of massacre than I had previously thought

    . . . In the months of April-May 1948, units of the Haganah were given operational orders that stated explicitly that they were to uproot the villagers, expel them, and destroy the villages themselves.' In a number of Palestinian villages and towns the IDF carried out organised executions of civilians. Asked by Ha'aretz whether he condemned the ethnic cleansing, Morris replied that he did not:



    A Jewish state would not have come into being without the uprooting of 700,000 Palestinians. Therefore it was necessary to uproot them. There was no choice but to expel that population. It was necessary to cleanse the hinterland and cleanse the border areas and cleanse the main roads. It was necessary to cleanse the villages from which our convoys and our settlements were fired on.



    In other words, when Jews target and kill innocent civilians to advance their national struggle, they are patriots. When their adversaries do so, they are terrorists.



    It is too easy to describe Hamas simply as a 'terror organisation'. It is a religious nationalist movement that resorts to terrorism, as the Zionist movement did during its struggle for statehood, in the mistaken belief that it is the only way to end an oppressive occupation and bring about a Palestinian state. While Hamas's ideology formally calls for that state to be established on the ruins of the state of Israel, this doesn't determine Hamas's actual policies today any more than the same declaration in the PLO charter determined Fatah's actions.

    These are not the conclusions of an apologist for Hamas but the opinions of the former head of Mossad and Sharon's national security adviser, Ephraim Halevy. The Hamas leadership has undergone a change 'right under our very noses', Halevy wrote recently in Yedioth Ahronoth, by recognising that 'its ideological goal is not attainable and will not be in the foreseeable future.' It is now ready and willing to see the establishment of a Palestinian state within the temporary borders of 1967. Halevy noted that while Hamas has not said how 'temporary' those borders would be, 'they know that the moment a Palestinian state is established with their co-operation, they will be

    obligated to change the rules of the game: they will have to adopt a path that could lead them far from their original ideological goals.' In an earlier article, Halevy also pointed out the absurdity of linking Hamas to al-Qaida.



    In the eyes of al-Qaida, the members of Hamas are perceived as heretics due to their stated desire to participate, even indirectly, in processes of any understandings or agreements with Israel. [The Hamas political bureau chief, Khaled] Mashal's declaration diametrically contradicts al-Qaida's approach, and provides Israel with an opportunity, perhaps a historic one, to leverage it for the better.



    Why then are Israel's leaders so determined to destroy Hamas? Because they believe that its leadership, unlike that of Fatah, cannot be intimidated into accepting a peace accord that establishes a Palestinian 'state' made up of territorially disconnected entities over which Israel would be able to retain permanent control. Control of the West Bank has been the unwavering objective of Israel's military, intelligence and political elites since the end of the Six-Day War.[*] They believe that Hamas would not permit such a cantonisation of Palestinian territory, no matter how long the occupation continues. They may be wrong about Abbas and his superannuated cohorts, but they are entirely right about Hamas.



    Middle East observers wonder whether Israel's assault on Hamas will succeed in destroying the organisation or expelling it from Gaza. This is an irrelevant question. If Israel plans to keep control over any future Palestinian entity, it will never find a Palestinian partner, and even if it succeeds in dismantling Hamas, the movement will in time be replaced by a far more radical Palestinian opposition.



    If Barack Obama picks a seasoned Middle East envoy who clings to the idea that outsiders should not present their own proposals for a just and sustainable peace agreement, much less press the parties to accept it, but instead leave them to work out their differences, he will assure a future Palestinian resistance far more extreme than Hamas - one likely to be allied with al-Qaida.

    For the US, Europe and most of the rest of the world, this would be the worst possible outcome. Perhaps some Israelis, including the settler leadership, believe it would serve their purposes, since it would provide the government with a compelling pretext to hold on to all of Palestine. But this is a delusion that would bring about the end of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.



    Anthony Cordesman, one of the most reliable military analysts of the Middle East, and a friend of Israel, argued in a 9 January report for the Center for Strategic and International Studies that the tactical advantages of continuing the operation in Gaza were outweighed by the strategic cost - and were probably no greater than any gains Israel may have made early in the war in selective strikes on key Hamas facilities. 'Has Israel somehow blundered into a steadily escalating war without a clear strategic goal, or at least one it can credibly achieve?' he asks. 'Will Israel end in empowering an enemy in political terms that it defeated in tactical terms? Will Israel's actions seriously damage the US position in the region, any hope of peace, as well as moderate Arab regimes and voices in the process? To be blunt, the answer so far seems to be yes.'



    Cordesman concludes that 'any leader can take a tough stand and claim that tactical gains are a meaningful victory. If this is all that Olmert, Livni and Barak have for an answer, then they have disgraced themselves and damaged their country and their friends.'



    15 January

    Note

    [*] See my piece in the LRB, 16 August 2007.



    Henry Siegman, director of the US Middle East Project in New York, is a visiting research professor at SOAS, University of London. He is a former national director of the American Jewish Congress and of the Synagogue Council of America.

    posted 10 months ago. ( send a note )
  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    dear,


    start your story again. thanks, yours, khan.

    posted 11 months ago. ( send a note )
  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    dear,



    I am on cafe now. my comp. is slow. thank you very much that you are in touch with me. regards, yours, khan. waiting !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    posted 11 months ago. ( send a note )
  • victorbravo

    victorbravo says

    Ah! I 'won'!
    http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/243018

    I think the output will be just for me. A bit purgative. Glad I did it!

    Thanks for asking after me. A joyous 2009 to you!

    posted 11 months ago. ( send a note )
  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    dear,



    Merry Christmas to all on this forum. I am a Christian and one of the names for Jesus is "the Prince of Peace". yours, khan.waiting !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    posted 11 months ago. ( send a note )
  • victorbravo

    victorbravo says

    Just so you know .... I listened to you four months ago. Am now in the midst of NaNoWriMo. I highly doubt I will share what I'm writing for it this time - but hey - I'm writing.

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    dear,



    pick my book from my shelf and place it in your shelf please. yours, khan. waiting !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    dear,


    you are welcome and send to me a private message please. yours, khan. waiting !!!!!!!!!

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Victoria (Vicki) Gaines

    Victoria (Vicki) Gaines says

    Hey Karen! I didn't realize I had a friend request until today -sorry to be late in responding. That's great that
    you like some of my book selections - steal away! I still have quite a few to add that I didn't like so much:-) I should do that, and offer a mini-review or something.

    Hope your day is going well!

    Blessings,
    Vicki

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    dear,


    you are a great lady and a holy lady. i respect you and have a great regard for you . I am very proud on you as a good friend. you are a great writer , I think, if yes then it is again a pleasure for me. yours, khan. waiting !!!!!!!!!peace to all.""

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Georgiana

    Georgiana says

    Hi Karen! Camy is a super fun read! Love Starts with Elle made me both laugh and cry--it actually caught me off guard in a good way.

    I think I know you from ShoutLife =)

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    dear,



    thank you very much for your great note. you are a great lady and God fearing . I love you and all ohters who love God. that is all. yours, khan. waiting !!!!!!!!!!!peace to all.""

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • ch. mohammad khan r

    ch. mohammad khan r says

    dear,



    thank you very much for your great interest. that place is a little away from my site. oh great lady, I am very much thankful to you. I shall write a note for you. yours, khan. waiting !!!!!!!!!!

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )


© 2006-2009 Shelfari | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy

Close