Israelis Do Care About Peace; But Wish Palestinians Were As Concerned As They Were

Time Magazine stepped into it when they released their latest edition, claiming that Israelis no longer care about peace.

That can't be further from the truth.

Israelis are sick and tired of being at a perpetual state of war. They are going to live hard and fight hard, because they have been under the gun for so long because of Palestinian terror and genocidal threats of annihilation from Israel's myriad enemies both near and distant (Hamas, Hizbullah, Iran, Syria, etc.)

Israel has become more pragmatic and realistic about the chances for peace with the Palestinians and neighboring Arab states following the Israel disengagement from Gaza in 2005 and the Lebanese withdrawal in 2000. Israel has seen a rise in terror attacks from Gaza since the 2005 disengagement - thousands of kassam attacks each of which is designed to kill or maim Israelis or destroy Israeli property within range of the missiles. Far from being an opportunity for peace, Gazans turned to Hamas and the terror group has maintained an iron grip on Gaza expelling Fatah in a bloody civil war.

Those actions have convinced Israel's polity that peace cannot come through more concessions, let alone land for peace. Israel has precious little land as compared to its neighbors, and Israel's so-called partners in peace at the Palestinian Authority have offered up nothing but empty platitudes and maintained the status quo on indoctrination of another generation of Palestinians to see Israel as illegitimate and refuse to recognize its right to exist alongside a Palestinian state.

Time is in the business of selling papers, and couldn't be bothered with reporting on facts or employing even the slightest bit of critical thinking and logic. It glosses over the reasons why Israelis have hardened in their belief that peace is not forthcoming - namely they lack a true partner for peace.

Instead of focusing on Israel, attention should truly be focused on the Palestinians and their double-speak - how they say one thing to their followers and empty statements to the diplomats who continue to think that they can substitute their own reality for the facts on the ground.

Settlements are not the impediment to peace - Palestinian intransigence to Israel's existence is the impediment to peace.

Moreover, how can peace with the Palestinians come when Fatah doesn't speak for at least half the Palestinian people and can't even address the issue of Gaza, which is fully in the hands of Hamas, the Palestinian terror group dedicated to Israel's destruction. Indeed, even the current Fatah charter references back to its original charter, which also calls for Israel's destruction and obligation to fight Israeli oppression.

With "partners" such as this, it is not Israel who no longer cares about peace, but the Palestinians who never did - unless it included a future without Israel's very existence.

Managing Expectations on Latest Peace Process Gambit

While Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu were in Washington this past week and agreed to continue talks on a biweekly basis, the Israeli Prime Minister was attempting to manage expectations by downplaying chances for a successful outcome.

The prime minister continued, "This year, after many efforts, we jumpstarted the direct talks with the Palestinians. This is an important step in the attempt to advance a peace agreement between us and them. I say this is an attempt because there is no certainty for success. Indeed, there are a lot of obstacles. There is a lot of skepticism and a lot of reasons for skepticism. But we need to try and achieve peace."

"We are trying in good faith, but not in naiveté. We are insisting that any agreement between us and the Palestinians be based on the two principles of security and recognition of the State of Israel as the country of the Jewish people."

"Security," continued Netanyahu, "because no peace will last without strong organs of real security arrangements on the ground. On the ground and not on paper, not some vague international commitment, but real Israeli security arrangements on the ground."

Netanyahu noted that Israel being asked to recognize a Palestinian state, "and it is natural and fitting that we ask from the other side to recognize the Jewish state and the state of the people of Israel. The deep understanding and the belief in our right to live here in this country, our homeland, the country of our forefathers, this understanding is critical for dealing with the challenges of the coming year, of the challenges of the next decade and the future in general."

He has every reason to manage expectations and downplay its chances; his negotiating opponent has no intention of making concessions on any of the key issues - as usual.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's talk about an "historic compromise" and said there would be no compromises on core issues such as Jerusalem and borders.

Abbas also reiterated his rejection of Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state. "We're not talking about a Jewish state and we won't talk about one," Abbas said in an interview with the semi-official Al-Quds newspaper. "For us, there is the state of Israel and we won't recognize Israel as a Jewish state."

Abbas said that in recent meetings with leaders of the Jewish community in the US, he made it clear that the Palestinians would not recognize Israel as a Jewish state. "I told them that this is their business and that they are free to call themselves whatever they want," Abbas said. "But [I told them] you can't expect us to accept this."

Abbas said that by raising the issue of Israel's right to be a Jewish state, Netanyahu was seeking to "strip" Israeli-Arabs of their rights and turn them into illegal citizens. He said that Netanyahu's goal was also to block any chance of Palestinian "refugees" from returning to their original homes inside Israel.

Abbas is more than willing to demand that Israelis dismantle all the Israeli communities in the West Bank outside the Green Line and resettle those Israelis within Israel's pre-1967 borders. That move would essentially make Palestinian territory Jew-free, all while Abbas refuses to recognize Israel's Jewish heritage, history, and necessity as a safe haven for Jews from all over the world (including the hundreds of thousands expelled from Arab states following Israel's independence in 1948.

At the same time, the Palestinian Authority sends mixed messages in public statements and tailors that message to the audience it seeks to sway. The key, as always, is what Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are promising to the Palestinian people - and on this front, it's business as usual. The PA is not about to give up its claims to Jerusalem and not recognizing Israel's right to exist. They are trying to have it both ways - but they have not done anything to prepare the Palestinian people for the eventuality of a two-state solution.

Missed Opportunities and Priorities

The failure of the ARRA of 2009 to boost the economy and get people spending on the basis of hundreds of billions of dollars in projects and transfer payments is all too apparent as we've seen the economy sputtering along for more than a year.

Now, President Obama has announced his plan to seek another $50 billion stimulus for infrastructure improvements over the next six years.

“Over the next six years,” Mr. Obama promised “we are going to rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads — that’s enough to circle the world six times; that’s a lot of road. We’re going to lay and maintain 4,000 miles of our railways — enough to stretch coast-to-coast. We’re going to restore 150 miles of runways and advance a next-generation air-traffic control system to reduce travel time and delays for American travelers — I think everybody can agree on that.”

Mr. Obama vowed that the plan, which would include work on high-speed rail lines, would be “fully paid for” and not add to the deficit.

But Republicans, who have been campaigning on the theme that the president’s $787 stimulus package was wasteful and did not work, immediately cast aspersions on the plan, describing it as another “tax and spend” initiative from Democrats. Representative Eric Cantor, the House Republican whip, called it “yet another government stimulus effort, another play called from the same failed Keynesian playbook.”

That's a tacit admission that the prior stimulus package didn't work. Moreover, it shows the folly of claiming that projects that were shovel ready that weren't. The spending here isn't going to come soon enough to help with the current recessionary environment (particularly if it is being spread over six years - not in one burst).

The timing couldn't come soon enough for Congressional Democrats, who need to bring home some kind of benefit to their constituents in the depths of a strong recession.

Of course, the question is just how effective and targeted the infrastructure spending will be. I'd be all for infrastructure spending, including energy distribution, high speed rail, mass transit, and road and bridge improvements, but the project will end up going to projects that are little more than routine maintenance and long term projects that localities haven't exactly seen as a priority. Throwing billions towards those projects isn't going to provide long term improvements because the localities will not maintain and upgrade their existing infrastructure.

Moreover, there remains a single project that is all ready save the lack of financing - the construction of 4WTC, which is on hold pending an improvement in the real estate climate in New York City. The President would have been wise to have included that in the package - a multibillion dollar financing package to complete reconstruction at Ground Zero. Instead, the project remains on the shelf. Construction at 4WTC would result in the creation of hundreds of direct jobs in all manner of construction trades, along with thousands of ancillary jobs in the fabrication of steel and materials for the building and other industries.

Media Outlets Finally Catching On To Hatemonger's Ground Zero Church Stunt

If you want a reason to get pissed off for a religious institution encroaching on Ground Zero's sacred soil, the group led by Bill Keller fits the bill. New York papers have finally caught on to his story, and are now pursuing it.

From the Daily News:

The crusade against a proposed mosque near Ground Zero turned Biblical Sunday as a fire-and-brimstone Florida preacher declared that those behind it will "burn in hell."

"All these people will die and burn in hell," Bill Keller told a crowd of 40 people gathered to hear his sermon at the New York Marriott Downtown overlooking Ground Zero.

"Islam is not and has never been a religion of peace," he said. "How could you build bridges with people who ask their Muslim brothers to fly a plane into the twin towers and killed thousands of innocent people?"

It's inflammatory rhetoric like Keller's that has supporters of the mosque most worried: They say it is wrong to tarnish the entire Muslim religion because of the actions of a few.

Many opposed to the Park51 project have also dismissed the Muslim-bashing preacher, fearing they'll be lumped in with his bigoted and racist views.

The News focuses on his anti-Muslim views, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Then again, so does the New York Times, which notes in passing that Glenn Beck is worshiping a false faith.

Keller doesn't just go after the Park51/Cordoba House group, but is up to his eyeballs in hatred towards homosexuals, Mormons, and even pushed the conspiracy theory that President Obama isn't a US citizen for purposes of becoming President.

Keller is currently operating out of a conference room at the Marriott next door to Ground Zero on West Street. His followers published flyers that were plastered all around Ground Zero promoting his Sunday sermon, but curiously didn't note the hate-filled bilge he was peddling.

Mind you, Keller has every right to peddle that hate (so long as he isn't promoting violence and is within the law) as it is protected both under the freedom of religion and freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment.

So, while the attention largely remains on the Cordoba House proposal for a community center and mosque, Keller's hate goes largely unremarked upon.

AOL News has more, including a copy of Keller's "sermon", which includes claims that Gahndi was a nice person, but was in hell presumably because he was not a Christian. A crowd of about 50 showed up, with most members of various media outlets.

Between 40 and 50 people attended the hour-and-a-half long event, which began at 11 a.m. and was held in the ballroom of the New York Marriott Downtown hotel, located across the street from ground zero. Although members of the press made up nearly half of the audience, it was unclear how many of the roughly 20-odd non-media-affiliated attendees there because they wanted to actually worship, versus the number gathered there based on their curiosity of Keller and his goals.

For example, Richard Borowski, who supports the controversial mosque project called Park51, said that he attended the service under the assumption that Keller "was coming out strongly against the mosque," but was surprised to hear the televangelist "pretty much come out in favor of it."

"We have a firewall between church and state to keep our country from being ruled by any one religion," Borowski told AOL News Surge Desk once the service had concluded, "Nothing would uphold and demonstrate that more than the construction of [both of] these houses of worship."

Even the speaker who preceded Keller during the service, Vincent Forras, a 9/11 volunteer and first responder, said he still had "not made his mind up" about the fiery televangelist or his project, although he did confess to being against the construction of Park51. Forras, who credits his Christian faith for his survival during a secondary building collapse on Sept. 11, is co-founder of the Gear Up Foundation, a charity for other 9/11 first responders.

Throughout Keller's sermon, two protesters who appeared to be 9/11 "Truthers," sporadically heckled Keller, shouting various denunciations, including "Liar!" at him from the crowd. At one point, a man rose and unfurled a red flag, before loudly shouting that Keller was "a false prophet," before being escorted out by Keller's bodyguards.

Developing: Oil Rig Explosion In Gulf of Mexico

Right now, details are scant, but apparently there was some kind of explosion at another oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico and Coast Guard and other rescue helicopters and craft are on route to a rig located south of Vermilion Bay.

UPDATE:
This is a map of the general vicinity.


View Larger Map

UPDATE:
Reports seem to indicate that rig workers were in the water but were accounted for. The report was apparently called in by a helicopter in the vicinity of the incident 80 miles south of Vermillion Bay; no word on whether it was a production platform or a drilling rig.

The platform involved is called Vermilion 380 (corrected from 398), and owned by Mariner Energy.

UPDATE:
The platform is located in 377 2,500 340 feet of water.

The explosion sparked a fire aboard the oil rig, owned by Mariner Energy. It occurred west of the site of the April blast that caused the massive BP oil spill.

A commercial helicopter company reported the blast around 9:30 a.m. CDT Thursday, Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel said. Seven helicopters, two airplanes and four boats were en route to the site, about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast.

The Coast Guard said initial reports indicated all 13 crew members from the rig were in the water. One was injured, but the others were said to be OK and awaiting rescue.

The platform is in about 2,500 feet of water, the Coast Guard said, and was not currently producing.

UPDATE:
It looks like MSNBC corrected the depth to 340 feet. The platform was still burning several hours after the initial explosion.

The Department of Homeland Security said the platform, known as Vermilion Oil Platform 380, was owned by Mariner Energy of Houston. DHS said it was not producing oil and gas but the company in a prepared statement said that during the last week of August, production from the facility averaged about 9.2 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and 1,400 barrels of oil and condensate per day.

Company records show that the platform and rig is in 340 feet of water.

Incorporating Innovative Technologies Into Contemporary Park Design To Reduce Pollution

Chicago recently cut the ribbon on a new park that incorporates some of the most modern building materials, which will help reduce smog and maintenance costs. The key is concrete pavers that purport to eat smog and are self-cleaning.

Site accomplished both objectives with a variety of low-maintenance materials: native plants, Cor-Ten steel retaining walls, and a variable-height seat wall made with terra cotta lintels salvaged from the demolished infirmary, a design that is friendly to senior citizens, but not to skateboarders. Perhaps the most innovative solution is an entry marked by bright white pavers that incorporate a new technology called TX Active. The material, manufactured by Essroc and poured over Unilock Eco-Priora pavers, is a photocatalytic cement that reacts to sunlight and accelerates the oxidation of pollutants, rendering them as harmless salts and thereby reducing the amount of nitric oxide in the air.

Though the permeable pavers clean the air best on sunny days, on rainy days they filter rainwater back into the ground, rather than local sewers. The material is also self-cleaning—it was first used by Richard Meier on the precast concrete exterior of the Jubilee Church in Rome—and doesn’t show the black streaks usually associated with concrete buildings in cities.

TX Active has the ability to be mixed with any number of materials, including concrete, paints, mortars, and precast elements and the cost is minimal considering that it can reduce pollution considerably through photo-catalyzation and is applied to the surface, rather than needing to be mixed through the entire material to be used.

The company promoting this material notes that the reaction does not consume the underlying materials, and therefore is durable. It also notes that the material can be incorporated into structures like roads and buildings, meaning that they can help reduce pollution while maintaining aesthetics.

Newsweek's Idiotic Coverage Of Pending Mideast Talks; NYT Follows Suit

Newsweek has put together a handy dandy list of catchphrases that should be avoided as a means to conducting a successful round of talks.

When President Obama hosts the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Washington this week for the start of direct talks, he should remember above all that the two sides have been at this for a very long time. Their peace process began when Obama was still in law school. At least a dozen summits have preceded this one with little or no tangible results. As such, Israelis and Palestinians are deeply skeptical about the prospects for an agreement—and worried that another failure will trigger fresh waves of violence. To acknowledge the long odds and to avoid sounding out of step, here are four lofty phrases uttered throughout the era of peacemaking that all sides should do their best to avoid.

The catchphrases are completely and utterly besides the point. Uttering "confidence building measures" does not damn the talks to failure.

Assuming that Mahmoud Abbas has authority to conduct talks in the name of Palestinians, let alone the ability to implement any deal beyond the West Bank, is what will damn these talks to failure.

The two sides have been at war since Israel's founding (that being Arabs versus the Israelis). The PLO (which includes Fatah as its largest faction) seeks Israel's destruction in its founding charter, and subsequent revisions have always referred back to the founding charter as its guiding principle.

Negotiations require having two sides that are willing to make concessions. Israel has always signaled its willingness to make concessions - on land, including around Jerusalem. The Palestinians have always sought more concessions, without making any of their own. Abbas and Fatah have refused to give up the right of return, and claim East Jerusalem (that includes the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount) as theirs. That's a nonstarter for any talks with Israel.

Abbas isn't willing or able to make those concessions because there's no way that the Palestinians would ever accept those terms because they've spent generations calling for nothing less than Israel's destruction, the right of return and Jerusalem as their capital.

Even more than Abbas' issues within his own organization is the fact that Fatah and the PA don't control Gaza. Hamas does - and they're not only not a party to these talks, but refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist. Fatah and Hamas have already gone toe to toe in a Palestinian civil war, with Fatah losing its presence in Gaza in the process (Hamas remains a threat in the West Bank though).

UPDATE:
The New York Times follows with its own inane analysis, claiming that peace rests on the shoulders of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Right. Just ignore that there's a guy across from him that has no power to actually fulfill any obligations that he might conceivably agree to - Mahmoud Abbas.

No, the pressure isn't on Netanyahu. It's on Abbas. Abbas is the key to any deal here.

Moreover, the analysis is based on the theory that "...the left wants to make peace but cannot, while the right doesn’t want to but, if forced to, can do it". Peace will come when Israel has a partner for peace. That happened when Sadat made his historic trip to Jerusalem and opened the door to a peace deal between Egypt and Israel. Similarly, King Hussein of Jordan entered a peace deal with Israel.

Despite the Oslo Accords (and Labor's efforts through Shimon Peres), the lack of a peace partner in the Palestinians is the main stumbling block.

Land concessions are now seen in a different light, particularly after the Gaza disengagement, which instead of creating conditions for peace, turned into a haven for Hamas, who proceeded to fire thousands of kassams at Israel and fostered a siege mentality among Israelis living within range of the rockets. That move was carried out by then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Kadima party, which was comprised of former Labor and Likud members.

Now, Israelis have to see concrete actions towards peace and are not going to accept land concessions without something tangible in return.

A Downgraded Category 3 Hurricane Earl Still Threatens Portions of East Coast

Hurricane Earl was downgraded to a category 3 storm, but that is still more than dangerous enough to cause considerable damage. The storm could still regain some strength over open water before glancing off the North Carolina coast.



The models are now pushing the storm further to the East, meaning that the chances for a hit on the East Coast are diminishing somewhat.