JE SUIS CHARLIE

Private note - 30th Anniversary

It’s 8:00 PM in New York City.  October 4, 2014.
Almost exactly 30 years ago (around 2:00 AM in Cairo on October 5, 1984), an old, Russian built Tupolev TU-134 jet landed on the extremely dirty and disorganized Cairo International airport.  The flight brought from Warsaw, to Cairo some tourists, some fresh, and some seasoned archaeologists, and a new photographer of Polish Center Archaeology in Cairo - on 2 year contract.  
This photographer was me.  
At this very moment my completely New Life began.   
For someone like me, who is not a trained archaeologist, participating in countless excavations all around Egypt, in Cyprus, and In the Northern Province of Sudan, was a life changing experience.  What most of the people read about, or see in the museums around the World, I saw and touched…
Exposure to archaeology and the wonders of the Ancient Civilizations had a profound effect on the way I saw the World.  This ‘private’ exploration coincided with meeting and listening to the Great Luminaries of the Mediterranean Archaeology.  Nothing is the same afterwards…
The list of the people to whom I have been always deeply indebted for that reason is long, I can’t list them all here.  However, I have to express my deep gratitude to a few made my new and improved life possible.  
Let me start from Professor Karol Mysliwiec (since 1982 - director of the Institute of Mediterranean Archeology at the Polish Academy of Sciences) who saw my photographic portfolio right after I graduated from college, and incited me to take part in a competition for the position of a photographer of Polish Center of Archaeology in Cairo.  Later on, he let me believe, that I proved to be the best in this contest.  Also, my deep apologies to him for making a lot of mistakes when I was covering his excavations in Tell-Atrib.  In 2005 I visited his extraordinary excavations in Saqqara where he was working on the tomb of Imhotep.
And then Professor Wiktor Andrzej Daszewski (at that time the Director of Polish Center of Archaeology in Cairo - my boss), who showed me ‘how Paradise looks’… when I took part in his excavations in Nea Paphos in Cyprus.  For a young photographer like me, who lost his father quite early - he became almost a father figure.  We (at the excavations) were all his family, so it was quite natural.  
And then Professor Wlodzimierz Godlewski (Warsaw University) and Dr. Stefan Jakobielski (Warsaw University) - thanks to whom I had a chance to feel like a real explorer driving a bit-up Land Rover at their excavations in Old Dongola - Northern province of Sudan - after a 26-hours truck trip across the desert from Khartoum.  Surrounded by the desert for 6 weeks at a time (twice) one develops either a profound love, or a profound hatred to the desert.  I fell in love…  
During my contract in Egypt I met many wonderful colleagues, young and aspiring archaeologists, who in these 30 years have become important figures of Mediterranean Archaeology.  Alas, after moving to America I lost active contact with most of them.  Let me name at least a few, who were really good friends:  
Dr. Stanislaw Medeksza (at that time the architect of the Polish Center of Archaeology in Cairo),
Dr. Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka (Nea Paphos, Cyprus)
Dr. Grzegorz Majcherek (Kom el-Dikka, Alexandria, Egypt), 
Dr. Iwona Zych (currently involved in Berenice Project in Egypt), 
Dr. Krzysztof Babraj - thanks to whom I returned to Egypt in 2004 to participate in his excavations in Marea (close to Alexandria) - where from 2005 to 2008 together with my wife Barbara - Architect, were running a preservation mission within the current excavations.
Dr. Zbigniew Szafranski (head of Polish Center of Archaeology in Cairo) with whom I spent many weeks photographing the reliefs on the wall of the Hatshepsut Temple in Deir-el-Bahari (Luxor).
Dr. Anna Poludnikiewicz (Tell-Atrib, Benha),
Dr. Michal Neska - who moved to Ethiopia to run his own excavations (unfortunately died in a very young age).
Barbara Wronska-Kucy - whom I met in Egypt in 1985, where she held a scholarship and as an architect was documenting the excavations and their architectural elements (currently an architect at Bone/Levine Architects in New York City - and my wife).

What the archaeology awakened in a young photographer was the craving for contact with art, with monuments, with the interested people involved in preserving art, and artifacts, or any other way involved in creative processes.  Archaeological contact in the Middle east gave me also the necessary experience.
Hence my 10 years contract at Sotheby’s New York, between 1989 to 1999, what gave me opportunity to have close contact with the most important examples of art beginning from the ancient art to the most contemporary.  The thrill of having in my hands an unframed pastel by Degas, was incomparable with anything else.
In 1999 I made a faithful decision, to proceed on my own from that time.  I started working with the architectural companies and designers shooting the architecture and the interiors.  The experience in still life photography shooting for Sotheby’s came useful.  
I cater mostly to New York architectural and design companies.  All projects are different, all produce their own challenges.  There is no routine elements in any of these projects.  

Both archaeology and Sotheby’s job sparked the drive to broadening the knowledge, discovering areas, which in normal situations would be ‘off course’.
In my case this led to web design.  I started learning that when still at Sotheby’s, but since then I designed many websites.  Starting from my own (jmk-gallery.com) I expanded providing websites to the architects, artists, commercial on-line stores.  Working with one of them - Creel and Gow (Creelandgow.com) since the Sotheby’s years, became a long lasting professional relationship - I provide both photography as well as web design to this client.

All of that in the last thirty years - today.  It’s been an exciting ride.  What will ‘tomorrow’ bring?

ONE-LINER 0006 - Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

When talking about the Israeli Palestinian conflict, which every few months brings another thousand or so of Palestinian, civilian casualties (as Israeli call it: ‘mowing the lawn’), every one, including the Israelis, loose completely in their minds, the ‘cause and result’ chain of events.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? 

Bibi Netanyahu - Israeli Prime Minister, has had a lot of air time on CNN and other channels of the American Television recently.  Every time he complains about Hamas threatening the normality of life of the Israeli citizens, with their rockets, and promising the escalation of campaign to rid Gaza of the Hamas, its militants, and its arsenal.  
We hear about thousands of the crude rockets sent into the Israel by Hamas, and we sympathize with the people, who are subjected to such a thread.  It’s inhumane.  That’s right.  
But we, and even the UN, center on the recent action-reaction cycle.  We have been manipulated by said Bibi Netanyahu into forgetting, that the recent rockets sent to Israel, and more than thousand of dead on the side of Palestinians is just the recent manifestation of the conflict - the recent reminder of the underlying issues.

The issue is that Israeli have converted the Gaza Strip into the OPEN AIR PRISON decades ago.

The Hamas was born to give some organized form to the resistance of the Palestinians - after the Second Intifada (1987).  However despicable practices they may employ, they are just the Israeli creation.

As a result of the Olso Accords (*) in 1993/1995 the borders of Gaza strip were closed.  The Palestinians who lived within these borders lost the main source of their income - day jobs in Israel.  The whole generation or 2 generations of young Palestinians never held a normal job, never had a normal life, never had the hope…

Let me repeat - as much as Hamas is wrong and their practices despicable - Israel is on the wrong side of HISTORY.  There is no way of wining with the ‘oppressed nation’.  Israeli may kill as many Palestinians as they succeed, and the remaining population just gets stronger.  

Hamas has to accept that Israel is there to stay.  Created in 1948 as a result of a real, and overdue need of the ‘homeless nation’ - is there to stay.  But all have to remember, and constantly bear in mind, that to create this state, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been removed from their (for centuries) land and packed into a small strip of land called Gaza.  As if it, alone, was not enough, Israeli occupation and later the complete ‘blockade’ ruined the life of many generations of people whose only guilt was, being Palestinians.

When a couple of days ago, secretary Kerry on a ‘hot mike’ stated “Hell of the Pinpoint Operation…” the whole conservative media in the States, and Israeli press exploded.  But let’s look at it as it is: When 90% of the dead and wounded are civilians, and the number of the dead exceeded already 1100, it is a heavy handed, vicious attack on the population - and not a Pinpoint Operation.

The artillery rounds which fell on the courtyard of the UN led school, and today on the playground of the refugee camp, killed people, but almost didn’t make any dent in the pavement.  These rounds weren’t designed to destroy hard targets - infrastructure or tunnels, stockpiles of weapons - they were designed as ANTIPERSONNEL weapons.  This is why the only effect was thousands pieces of shrapnel flying around any killing people who tried to find some haven under the roof of the school.

Let’s face it.  Using the anti-personnell on a civilian population is not a legal form of the war conduct.

The UN is creating another fact-finding commission, to determine the abuses of the rules of war, on both sides.  Until the United States accepts that the findings may be quite damaging to the image of the occupant, there is no possible solution to this conflict.  After the ‘Cast Lead’ campaign the findings of the Goldstone Report was rejected by the US congress, although it accused both sides, not only Israelis, of the atrocities.  

We went too far already with the unfeathered support for the punishing campaigns of the IDF, instead of trying to influence our best Middle East friend to ease the blockade, and start building the conditions for the normal (as close to normal as possible) coexistence of the two peoples - within the same borders, or accepting two state solution.  

Something has to be done.   Something has to be done NOW.  And our country - the USA - the leader of the Free World, has the moral obligation to lead this process, and finally bring the PEACE to the tormented people.


_____________________________
* - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_Accords

ONE-LINER 0005 - Access to Information

One of the basic, and the most important tenets of democracy is ‘CRITICAL THINKING’.

Let me quote after one of our most influential (internationally) former US Presidents Jimmy Carter:

“Critical thinking is thinking that proceeds on the basis of careful evaluation of premises and evidence and comes to conclusions as objectively as possible through the consideration of all pertinent factors and the use of valid procedures from logic (Carter, 1973 - 1*).

In order to be able to perform these mental processes, one has to have enough of information on the subject.  ‘Enough of information’ doesn’t mean that the information coming from one source, no matter how extensively it may cover the subject, is sufficient.  A single source is doomed to have the non-objective fact references, and opinions. 

This is why in the Western Democracies the information flows freely, and all citizens have the same, non-impeded access to the various sources of information.

Contrary to the totalitarian systems (based on communism, or any other Orwellian society), where the information is censored, and the citizens are prohibited to access the information they seek - but they are fed with the government approved opinions, removing the critical thinking from the equation - we, in the Western democracies are free to seek, and examine the information, no matter where it comes from - and make our own determination as to what the truth really is.

I grew up in a country, where the government minders, for decades, were letting in, only a small amount of the Western information, so the population might have been fooled in believing in their truthful approach.  It was the communist Poland.  Not like in Russia (then USSR), some of the information was getting through.  The proximity of the West, and the active informational campaign by the US, undeniably made an impact on the level of political education in the general population.  So, the ‘critical thinking’ had some real basis, although manipulated by both sides of the political barricade.  We all know the history - in the early nineties, the country which tried to control the information the most, fell apart.  The USSR was no more, and a host of the new ‘democratically minded’ new countries came into being, and some others (like Poland, or East Germany) removed the shackles put on them by the USSR as a result of the WWII.

With a few instances of the modern history where even in the States, some critical thinking was strictly prohibited (McCarthyism of the fifties) - Americans enjoyed completely free and not-impeded

access to various sources of the news, limited only by the languages they were transmitted.

Although the majority of the Americans have been completely disinterested in the World’s affairs, and the un-impeded access to the knowledge hasn’t translated itself in the political knowledge of the most of the US population, some cherish the possibilities, and use them to better their ability to have the well-balanced and just opinion on the events which force themselves into our lives.

No matter how isolationist one may be - there is no denying - that the events, like the Putin’s annexation of Crimea, or Israeli incursion into Gaza, affect all of us, directly or indirectly.

I have always searched for the different news sources.  It is BBC, which for years has been a great source of slightly alternative point of view form the American media.  There is French24, another great source of the alternative views…  There is RAI – the Italian TV Channel with their excellent news segments (only in Italian).  Since 2003, there was another player on the information market - AlJazeera English.  The news organization founded and owned by the ruling family of Qatar.

We all have been very skeptical of the possibly biased and skewed picture coming from this network…  And then, in time the AlJazeera English has proven indispensable to create the full picture of the events.  It brought to the computer screen the most prominent journalists from various countries of the World.  We all admire Sir David Frost (2*)- the author of the incredibly blunt and probing series of interviews with former President Nixon.  This giant of the journalism run in AlJazeera English a segment airing the interviews with many great, and sometimes controversial figures of the world’s politics, and culture.  ‘Frost all over the World’ was the program I tried never to miss… 

This network brought a number of the world renowned journalist to our computers.  A Palestinian born Marwan Bishara with his ‘Empire’ - often controversial program dissecting the current affairs.

Many field reporters I grew to like and appreciate - like an Australian Peter Greste, who provided great reporting from the crisis stricken areas of the world - until was imprisoned by Egyptian Regime on false charges of ‘aiding and abetting the terrorist organization - Muslim Brotherhood’.

For years while working on my computer, a small window with the AlJazeera live stream was a part of my MO.

However everything ended in 2013, when Qatar based AlJazeera network bought Al Gore’s Current Network (*3).

When it was announced, I couldn’t understand why anyone would allow for such deal.  One thing was to listen, and watch AlJazeera English as an alternative news station - from the outside of the US, completely another was to allow a foreign forces broadcast from our soil.  It was, in my opinion, unwise, and simply dangerous, because of the possible wrong message…  For many, the information coming from the outside sources is scrutinized much more than from the American Network.  And so, it happened.  AlJazeera America was created and became carried by the most of the Cable companies in the country.

However, the thing which I haven’t anticipated was that at that same time the original AlJazeera English live stream became UNAVAILABLE IN THE USA.  Anybody trying to dial on their computers http://www.aljazeera.com/watch_now/ receives in the middle of the screen a black-boxed message: ‘THE VIDEO YOU ARE TRYING TO WATCH CANNOT BE VIEWED FROM YOUR CURRENT LOCATION.  VISIT ALJAZEERA.COM/AMERICA TO VIEW CONTENT AVAILABLE IN THE USA’.

Unfortunately, the Aljazeera America is a boring, digested, resembling-other-american-channels news station.  No controversy, no deeply probing editorials - it smells censorship.

I would never thing that I would be limited in my news sources in America.  Access to the information, and the critical thinking are the basis of the Democracy.

And yet - someone decided, that American Public is NOT AUTHORIZED to make a choice to watch the AlJezeera English and its stream and videos.  You can access the Internet channel, but all the videos bear the same censorship message.

So, what is the difference between the Internet blocking in China, and Internet blocking in America?

This incident (and I hope it is isolated incident) is at least worrying.  What is the state of our Democracy if the News are government minded?  It was explained that the stream is limited (prohibited) because of the licensing limitations - after inception of the American based AlJazeera America.  But is it a commercial, or political decision?  Or a political usage of the commercial regulation…

Can anybody answer these questions?

______________________________________________

*1 - http://www.intime.uni.edu/model/democracy/crit.html

*2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Frost

*3 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_TV

farther reading: http://www.intime.uni.edu/model/democracy/demo.html

ONE-LINER 0004 - 2014 Palestinian-Israeli conflict

It’s eleventh day of the 2014 conflict.  So far, more than 340 Palestinian dead, and more than 2500 injured, not counting the destroyed lives of the thousands of people who have lost their whole life belongings and became homeless…

We have seen such conflicts many times, every few months, for close to 10 years now.  Every time several hundred (or sometimes far more than a thousand) casualties and great number of injured… 

We have heard all the ‘catchy’ names of these military operations - like ‘Rainbow’ (2004), ‘Days of Penitence’ (2004), ’Summer Rains’ (2006), ‘Autumn Clouds’ (2006), ‘Hot winter’ (2008), ’Cast Lead’ (2008/2009), ‘Returning Echo’ (March 2012), ‘Pillar of Defense’ (October 2012), ‘Brother’s Keeper’ (June 2014), and ‘Protective Edge’ (July 8, 2014 - ongoing) (1*).  They are just names - behind them are the very personal tragedies - hundreds of thousand of them…

After the decades of the failed attempts to sponsor the lasting peace between these two adversaries, the world’s audience suffers from the ‘Political ADD’ (Political Attention Deficit Disorder).  The news coming from Gaza, bringing the information about the number of casualties, and the destruction to the cities and villages, make all of us, at first surprised and scared, than not understanding and tired, and at the end just uncomfortable…

Almost 2 million people in Gaza Strip are subjected to a blockade, in result of which they can’t catch fish, they can’t rebuild their houses, they suffer the shortage of water, electricity, medicines, food…

And they do not know at all, if their children survive the next day…  And all that with a total disregard to the humanitarian laws, and the UN resolutions.

 

Since the 2005, Gaza Strip is in the hands of the Palestinian Authorities.  Israel withdrew their military from the Strip, and succeeded in making the Gaza Strip residents, to ‘police’ themselves. 

In the result of the Palestinian legislative elections held on January 25, 2006 Hamas formed the new Government - the first National Unity Government with Fatah.  It didn’t last long and both parties engaged in a violent conflict (lasting until the reconciliation in 2014).

Hamas became the sole ruling faction in Gaza Strip after so called Battle of Gaza - between June 10-15 2007(2*), when the Hamas militants removed the Fatah officials and Fatah offices from the Gaza Strip.  Hamas, after all, won the popular elections(!), although the Fatah side insists on calling it a ‘military coup’.
After years of mismanagement and open conflict between Hamas and Fatah, on April 23, 2014, in Gaza City the Reconciliation Agreement was signed giving hopes to the Palestinians, that although split in two territories, the Palestinian people may have a single, unified political representation - National Unity Government.  Although considered as a thread to the peace process, by many countries (including the USA), the agreement between Fatah and Hamas should produce more moderate Government, than the Hamas alone (by itself more extreme and stubborn).

Hamas is not an organization you would like on your backyard.  That’s for sure.  It is a religious based Muslim organization, who’s militant wing pledges the destruction of Israel, and is by many countries in the world (including the USA) considered a terrorist organization.  But let’s understand that its creation didn’t happen in a political vacuum.

It came into being in 1987 - during the First Intifada (Unarmed Palestinian Uprising) - as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood - to liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation and to establish an Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip (3*). 

They became extremely popular within Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, because after so many disappointments related to the Fatah collaboration with the Egyptians at first, and Israelis later.  After decades of the siege, for a common Palestinian from the Gaza, Hamas is the only force which stands for the people of Gaza.  Being used to hear only the empty promises - suddenly there is a force which delivers on the ‘welfare front’.  Hamas provides the education, health coverage, helps financially the families who lost members or their households in the effect of the actions by the Israeli Defense Forces… 

Hamas’ militants send on occasions thousands of crude, not accurate and short distance missiles into Israel, threatening the lives of the residents of the nearby cities and villages. 

Every time it happens, after a few unsuccessful attempts to negotiate the ‘cease fire’ the Israeli Army starts another of their Operations with a ‘catchy’ name (as mentioned in the beginning of the article).

What happens next works like a good, Swiss watch.  After the initial anger toward the Hamas for starting the barrage of rockets, and causing the reaction of the IDF, while the list of the casualties grow, the anger redirects itself toward the IDF, and IDF only. 

The popularity of Hamas rises as fast as the bamboo shoots.  Whenever the Israelis launch their new operation which aims to disarm Hamas, and remove any thread of the rocket assault on Israel, the Hamas becomes stronger and its support among the population rises.  Every time the new operation brings even higher number of the casualties, the anger of the World grows, the popularity of Hamas grows, and the Israel looses it’s moral ‘upper hand’.

The ironic paradox in this situation is that Israel can't afford destroying the Hamas completely.  In the political climate where there are plenty Super-Extreme (extreme doesn't cover it) militarized organizations like Islamic State (former ISIL or ISIS), the alternative to Hamas is frightening.

A few days ago the Egypt produced a new initiative to negotiate a ‘cease fire’.  It was accepted by the Israel… and Hamas rejected it.  Why?  Someone forgot to include the Hamas into the negotiations…

How is it possible?  We may call it a ’terrorist organization’, but it is the legal government of the Gaza - democratically elected, and it is a ‘player’ in this conflict. 

Every time Hamas starts its rocket barrages, they know that the response will be heavy and un-proportional.  But their goal is to bring the world’s attention to the unresolved issues of the ‘illegal blockade of Gaza’, and to the conditions which Gaza residents endure.

I do not agree with the means - I do not accept the endangering the Israeli civilians in any way.  But, their goal is negotiation some positive changes to the existing Gaza conditions.  Not a ’status quo’ - which was offered by the Egyptians.

A couple of days ago Hamas made public their list of ten demands upon Israel in exchange for a proposed ten year truce with the Jewish state (4*). 

I will quote these conditions here, because I am not sure if they are so unreasonable…

1. Return of IDF tank positions so that farmers can work their lands

2. Freeing of all prisoners arrested since June 23 (when 3 Israeli teens were killed by Hamas operatives), and improving the conditions of those currently in prison.

3. Lifting of Israel’s naval blockade around Gaza along with the complete opening of the land border crossings.

4. Establishment of an international airport and seaport in Gaza.

5. Expansion of Gaza fishing zone by six miles.

6. Open the Israel-Gaza Rafah border crossing permanently under UN supervision, instead of under Israel’s watch.

7. 10 year truce with Israel along with the deployment of an international observer force on the border.

8. Israel must never enter Gaza under any circumstances and protect Palestinian Muslim worshippers at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

9. Israel must refrain from interfering with the newly created unity Palestinian  government between Fatah and Hamas.

10. Rehabilitation of Gaza Industrial Zones and allowance for Gaza to create a border protection force.

Some of these demands do not make sense in the current political climate, but others…

I am sure that in the process of the negotiations, some of these demands may be easily, and simply crossed off, but many would stay.  These are just demands to have the ’normal’ life in Gaza.

Instead, we see the escalation of the military incursion, and increased number of victims.

Let’s remember just one of the recent operations:

In ‘Cast Lead’ in Dec. 2008 - Feb 2009 - about 1450 Palestinians killed (Goldstone Report (5*)).

How many will suffer in the Operation ‘Protective Edge’?

____________________________________________

1* - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza–Israel_conflict

2* - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_for_Gaza_(2007)

3* - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas

4* - http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/07/16/Report-Hamas-Offers-10-Year-Truce-with-10-Demands

5* - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Fact_Finding_Mission_on_the_Gaza_Conflict

ONE-LINER 0003 - Palestinian Predicament

I have written about the Palestinian - Israeli conflict on numerous occasions.  I feel deeply for the Palestinian nation, who deserves the place to live on their own, in peace and prosperity - like everybody else.  This is an undeniable right of every human on this planet.

Created in 1948 Israel is such a place for the Jews, who until then had no place which they could call their own, dispersed in the world between other nations, and often suffering the persecution based only on their ethnic and religious identities. 

At this moment I do not want to engage in lengthy explanations of the Palestinian rights to the same land they share with Israelis.  It’s a subject on it’s own, and as such has been and will be addressed, some other time. 

At this moment I will not talk about the illegal, Israeli settlements in the West Bank, nor the ‘Blockade’ of Gaza (considered by many in the World as illegal as well).

At this point I do not want to talk about the heavy handed response the Israeli Army applies to any aggressive action of the Palestinians, no matter how trivial, or serious and dangerous, it might be.

We talked about the ‘Cast Lead’ campaign of 2007/2008, and relating to it the Goldstone Report and the almost general World’s condemnation of that action, nor I will talk at this point about the current, about to happen, ground invasion on Gaza Strip…

At this point I want to look at the Palestinian provocations…

In the last 3 days more than 440 rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip into the Israel.  More than 440 crude and not very powerful, but able to kill, maim, and cause the property damage rockets.

In the recent time the Hamas, who is responsible for these launches, acquired a bit more sophisticated technology, allowing them to send the rockets deeper in the territory of the Israel.  Of course, the Israelis, being subjected to such a threat for decades, know how to minimize the casualties, and hide in time into the readily available shelters.  They have on occasion about 15 seconds from sounding of the air alarm to the explosion.  So far, no one was killed or injured by the rockets.  But, as I understand, it’s not easy to live their lives, constantly waiting for the air-raid alarm, no matter what one is engaged at the moment, or how mobile one is (there are handicaps,a and sick people who’s mobility is sufficiently impaired to create the increased danger).

The Israelis react with the air strikes.  So called ‘surgical’ air strikes, reducing to a pile of gravel houses of the suspected Hamas supporters, or officials…  Many innocent people gets killed in the process.

This scenario has been known for decades.  Palestinians provoke, creating terror in the Israeli villages and cities, the Army responds with the Iron Fist, killing the people, damaging the infrastructure… It’s nothing new.

When The Palestinians went ahead and created the ‘reconciliation governments’ which included Hamas and Fatah representatives, not counting a small opposition (mostly from the USA and the Israel) the World applauded.  I was among those who had hopes for the future.

Yes, we know - Hamas is considered a terrorist organization…  Yes, we know - they still haven’t accepted the existence of the Israel and vouch it’s destruction…

But we all expected that the Unity Government was a step in a direction of changing it.  PLO, once was a fighting force and recognized as terrorists, and then they evolved and their leader Yasser Arafat was awarded the Nobel Peace prize…

So, anything can happen, and this is what we all expected and waiting for.  Especially that the history has proven in a very acute way, that acting aggressively against the Israel leads to nothing, but loss of life, destruction of the infrastructure, and ‘derailing’ of the peace talks.

And yet the Hamas attacks happened again.  Three Israeli teens kidnapped and killed, and 440 rockets barraging over the Israel can produce only one outcome - the Army retaliation. 

In turn the initial disapproval of Hamas by the Palestinian population - after suffering the death of the families and friends caused by the air-strikes - gets replaced by the anger and wish to retaliate agains the Israelis…  The vicious circle closes again. 

This is what I never could comprehend: how anybody can consciously do things which immediately cause harm to him and his surroundings?  How can anybody, being of a sound mind, do such a ‘suicidal’ actions, harming the whole population.  What Hamas is doing at such times is what is in the States called a ‘SUICIDE BY POLICE’.  They put a suicide vest on the whole Palestinian population in Gaza.  And people, who are subjected to the hardship of living in Gaza, just do not see it, blinded by the hatred, and the sorrow.  The vicious circle closes again.

If the barrage of the rocket stops, the Israelis wouldn’t have any right, nor moral justification, of the air-rides on Gaza, or any other destructive action.  They would have to start negotiating, and something might get done in the process.  But, the provocations have to stop first.  At this point I become convinced that the Hamas doesn’t have in their minds, nor on their agenda, the welfare of the Palestinian nation, but quite the opposite.  Just the martyrdom of their own people - but for what?  It doesn’t lead anywhere. 

Stop shooting rockets into the Israel, and start real negotiation.  Provoking the trigger happy military might of Israel is not a solution and it never will.  And for now the UN may discuss the situation and the un-proportional use of force as long they want.  Stop the rockets and the kidnappings - things will change.

ONE-LINER 0002 - President's approval rate

The media keep shouting how low is the acceptance level of the President Obama.  New polls bring constantly decreasing numbers.  CNN, until recently were trying to convey the message that the approval rating is the worst since the WWII (although in fact the Bush Junior had this ‘privilege’).

I talked to many Democrats, who complain, how disappointing is what President Obama does, and how disappointing is that President Obama hasn’t delivered so many things, promised during the election campaign…  The list of broken promises is long, starting from Guantanamo…

Republicans triumph quoting the polls numbers – manipulating the nation.

At this point I would like to look into this disappointing acceptance levels.  During the last decades the access to the information in our society has increased a lot.  The media thriving on sensations, feeds us the manipulated and one-faceted pulp, having little to do wit the ‘objective truth’ (if is exists at all).

I am a Liberal, and as many on my side of the isle have been critical of many aspects of the President Obama’s politics.  However, I am aware, and I never forget the achievements of his presidency, without which many millions of the US Citizens would have much gloomier outlook on theirs lives.

We - people on the Democratic side of the isle, have to remind ourselves and others, of these achievements, in order not to loose the general picture of the current Presidency.

Let’s start form the fact that the millions of people have their ‘preexisting conditions’ covered by the Health Insurance - the fact which used to put many under the poverty level if they suffered form some lasting medical conditions.
Let’s not forget about the push toward the ‘equal pay for equal work’ reducing the gender pay gap.
Let’s not forget about the push toward equal treatment of all people regardless of the sexual orientation, and letting all the people marry the people they love regardless of the gender (same sex marriages).  
Let’s not forget about not letting shutting down the research on stem cells - but encouraging it.
Let’s not forget about the daily struggle for the budget, for the welfare of the underprivileged, for the new jobs and the unemployment benefits…

The Democrats have to remember all good things the current President pushed and forced to implement despite the strong opposition in the Republican Congress…

When you take under consideration all the facts, and the principle we all stand in general we all approve the work done by the President Obama.  We can criticize his decisions, but in the general polls we should never ‘disapprove’ his actions, fueling the Republicans’ agenda.  
The way the questions of the polls are constructed never give any options to explain why one partially disapprove  with the Government policy.  It’s either YES, or NO.  
And in my opinion - maybe he doesn’t pass our scrutiny with the flying colors - we strongly AGREE with the direction we are going, especially considering the alternative proposed by the Tea Party backers.

I approve what The President Obama does (in general) - and 'disapprove' what he fails to do...

And lastly… it’s really baffling to me how anybody who earns less than 250 $K/year can actually consider backing the demands of the Tea Party (or Republican Party in general).  I never thought that such a huge percentage of the US population might have the ‘Helsinki Syndrome’…

So, Democrats - look at the big picture, not at the particular shortcomings, and - if you agree with the general direction (think about the alternatives), and if you agree with what has been achieved - say YES in the current President’s approval polls.  
Otherwise you may have much more to complain about in a shot future, when the Republicans take over the Senate, as a result of the Nation being mislead by a the manipulated polls.  Do not dismiss the polls influence on the minds of the people, on the minds of the voters.
Do not send a wrong message.