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hamuda
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Country: Israel
Gender: Female
Interests: traveling, exploring new lands
Expertise: loving people
Occupation: Student
Industry: Government
Message: message me
Member Since:
12/27/2003
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| Two days ago I finished a marathon two months of exams and studies. Since having a little free time I decided to learn more about both McCain's and Obama's VP picks. Before the vp's were chosen I had not made a decision on whom to vote for. Since the beginning much has been made about Obama's lack of experience. Because I am an International Relations student and I have studied the history of world leaders and the current political world situation I have been very concerned on who will be the future president and vice president. What with the age of McCain and the Uniqueness of Obama, (let's face it, historically young political challengers have not always fared well in the US) I feel the vice presidential candidate is as crucial as the presidential one. I have combed site after site both "Liberal" and "Conservative" . The US is in a crucial world position right now. Depending on the leadership it will either lose its status as world power or continue its status fixing the cracks in the foundation. America is really hurting right now. The economy is in a slump, the international community has lost all faith and respect for the US, the state of the educational system is appalling, terrorists are still a threat, Russia and China are becoming stronger and smarter, the dollar is depreciated and debt abounds. All this to say, we need educated leaders, willing to focus on the vital domestic problems, with new ideas and creativity and we need someone who can adequately handle with conviction and vision our deteriorating place in the International arena and the upcoming challenges that will be presented by other rising powers. Obama, although lacking experience (in comparison to McCain), is highly educated, and highly motivated to learn and to enact creative solutions to the domestic agenda. He has traveled outside America to meet world leaders and to gain more experience. Because he knew he was lacking in the foreign policy area, he chose a senator acknowledged by both parties as being an expert in FP and with extensive leadership experience. McCain is a war hero and a veterern congressman. He chose someone with no foreign policy experience and a short general experience record. Sarah Palin has been a mayor of a town of 7 -9 thousand people, and she has been a governor of Alaska for less than two years. ( a state that has a population of 600 thousand people, smaller than the population of the city of Chicago ) Her economic records as governor and mayor are less than stellar. As for education she has no formal law or governement training, her degree was in communications. She applied for her first passport last year and went on her first trip outside the country last year. I am not attacking her as a person. I know that not everyone can or desires to travel the world. But as a world leader one must be held to a different standard. We live in a globalized society, the US is not a small nation and the international arena is as important an issue as domestic concerns. She may be a charismatic, nice, and fine woman, but charisma and charm alone cannot run an international superpower. We have had eight years of stagnancy and slump. We have seen our economy getting worse and worse, our schools falling more and more behind, our debt skyrocketing, our respect being crushed, and the world's attitude change against us. There are big changes that must be made or the US will not survive in the capacity it is used to. For eight years we have given the one party a fair chance in leading and improving our nation and things have only gotten worse. Again, I want to interject and say that I am not saying one party is better than another. It is more than a party issue. Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting the same results... Us Americans are in danger of becoming insane. We must do something different. We must look to new ideas, new strategies. Choosing a leader must not be based on race, religion, or gender but on their track record, knowledge, experience, and leadership abilities and failures. Please don't choose based on single issues. (environment, pro-life, pro-choice, guns, etc.) Look at the whole picture. Secondly don't accept one media outlet, look at a variety, throw out half of what they have to say and then make an informed decision. | | |
| "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."
"So
do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide.
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.
There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of
evil. " Lord of the Rings
Have you ever felt that you have so much brewing inside of you and when you finally start to write you can't put it all into words? I am a deep person trying to be shallow person (sometimes I am pretty good at it) because I can't always handle the depth and emotion inside me. Anyways..
This afternoon there was another attack in Jerusalem. A man in a bulldozer went awry with the intent of terror. This happened three weeks ago in another part of Jerusalem and three people were murdered, thankfully today no one was killed. Living in Israel you are bombarded by distressing news: An impending disastrous earthquake, Iran's nuclear program and desire for Israel to be wiped out, Syria's taunts, Hezbollah regrouping, Hamas...It goes on and on. While studying International Relations I have learned more and more startling facts that the average American either doesn't know or doesn't want to know. (Nuclear Pakistan, WMD's, China, India, the United States and it's current path to demise...) Last week a professor of International Relations remarked to our class, "if you don't want to be depressed don't study International Relations." Today in Sociology I watched the movie Mrs. Miniver. It is a classic movie about an English family experiencing the beginning of World War II. After watching it I felt so burdened. Lately I have been feeling that we are living in those pre war days and hard days are coming upon us. Maybe it is just because I live in Israel or in Jerusalem, or maybe it is because I feel things to deeply. In these times I have remember that God is in control, and our courage and strength will come from him when the situation demands it.
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Ethics,
too, are nothing but reverence for life. This is what gives me the
fundamental principle of morality, namely, that good consists in
maintaining, promoting, and enhancing life, and that destroying,
injuring, and limiting life are evil. Albert Schweitzer
Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar made a rare statement Thursday, saying that he envies Israel
.
"To tell you the truth, we envy our enemies. The way they care
for a body and will go to the end of the world in order to get it back,
and how they care for the hostage and will go all the way to return
him," Kuntar said in an interview with Hizbullah's
al-Manar television network, a day after being released from jail and returned to Lebanon
as part of a prisoner swap deal
with Israel.
**It is pretty amazing that he recognized this and actually acknowledged it to the media.
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| We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world. Helen Keller
Today we buried our soldiers. Two heroes finally laid to rest. Thousands of people attended the funerals and all of Israel took a moment to reflect.
Miki Goldwasser eulogized her son: "I
won't cry, not now. I stand at attention before you with my eyes lifted
towards my people with the request: Stand tall, lift your heads in
national pride.
"I hope we can see this war as a victory. We have revealed a strong
people and wonderful youths. We have revealed bereaved families with
undefeatable, powerful spirit, we have revealed kindness. We have
revealed commitment, and the meaning of the word friendship," she said
Goldwasser's widow, Karnit, said in her eulogy that "on July 12, at
9:06, time stopped. A journey began for both of us – you and me – us
and the family, the State and you. You and I are going on to the next
journey, the journey of my life. You will continue to be my inner
voice, an eternally young man who will accompany me throughout my
entire life. Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who was
seated in the front row near Karnit and Miki Goldwasser, also eulogized
Udi. Speaking to the IDF soldiers present he said, "If any of you, God
forbid, should be captured, or should anything worse happen in the
fight against the terror organization – the State of Israel, its
government, and the IDF will do everything just and possible to bring
you home"
At Eldad Regev's funerel:
Eldad's brother said:
"A strange man, your enemy, exactly like you / You know he does not want to die, exactly like you."
"We lived in a world where we believed our enemy was exactly
like us," Ophir continued. "We thought we could speak to people who
also wanted to raise a child, grow a flower, love a girl, exactly like
us. But the enemy proved it is not like us. And still, we will not stop
trying."
"I stand here today sad, crying, but proud; proud of my country
that fought with me to bring you back, proud of every citizen who
thought of you, Eldad, as his brother. I'm proud to belong to those who
love and not to those who hate. And to the entire nation who paid a
high price with clenched teeth, they know that camaraderie has no
price." Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in his
eulogy, "This wasn't the welcome we anticipated," he said. "We all
dreamt – the families and the State of Israel – to hold Udi
(Goldwasser) and Eldad and embrace them with warmth and love after two
sad years.
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Today was a day that reminded me of why I love Israel and the degree of depth and love she has. Today was the day that
Lebanon finally gave back the two captured soldiers that had ignited
the Second Lebanon war two years ago. When the men were kidnapped they
were serving their yearly reserve duty and making routine checks on the
Northern border. After the unit was blindsided, soldiers killed, and
two men kidnapped Israel began a war to get them back and to show
Lebanon that this sort of unprovoked action was unacceptable. In the
beginning of the war the Israeli public was in favor but after a month of
constant rocket fire and death the public was tired and frustrated that
the government was ill equipped for the mission. After two months of
bloodshed the war ended and both sides came out defeated. Israel's
soldiers were still in foreign hands and the Lebanese had gained no
ground.
Because things change on a moments notice in Israel after
awhile the public relegated the event and the captive soldiers to the margins
of their minds. With Hamas threats, Iran, economy issues and daily life
the men were becoming a distant stinging memory. During the last two years the
families of the men have tried to keep their sons on the forefront of the news. They have talked around the world, met with world leaders, and kept hope that their sons would be returned.
After two years the families were fed up with the stall in progress of the government and the world on behalf of the captives. A few weeks ago Israel was going to pronounce the men dead but the families spoke out and sued the government for making the announcement without the bodies being in sight. The families put great pressure on the government and finally it was decided that Israel would exchange 4 live terrorists each guilty of killing innocent Israeli civilians and 198 bodies of dead Hezbollah soldiers from past wars to get their two men back.
T his morning the final exchange was made. Although government leaders and the public knew the soldiers were probably not living, everyone kept hope in their hearts that at least one would come home alive. The Hezbollah never said that both soldiers were dead and the Israeli army kept medical personal around in case one of the men came back and needed medical attention. This morning the whole country listened to the news in hopes that there would be signs of life. The wait was agonizing for the family and friends; the way the media presented it, and the hush of the Hezbollah. Finally two black coffins were taken out of Red Cross trucks and the truth finally set in. The country was heartbroken. The pictures of the men, and the pleas of their families flooded everyones memory. Some people were angry and couldn't understand why Israel had released murderers for dead bodies. To the world Israel looks insane taking such risks for bones but Israel showed the world her true colors. For a long time the country has been forgetting her roots and her foundations in exchange for being more like the rest of the Western world. Today She came back reflecting to the world her commitment to her people, to the families, and to the soldiers showing the world that Israel would not abandon her own. Tonight celebrations are being held in Lebanon welcoming the murderers home. Tonight in Israel the families of Eldad and Udi are mourning and trying to go forward after two years of waiting, hoping, and working on behalf of their sons release. Tonight the land is solemn and hearts are hoping that this story will not have a sequel.
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