Mid-East Peace, a Century and Counting

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071126/ap_on_go_pr_wh/mideast_summit

So...Bush wants to add his stamp on a peace process that has involved a half-dozen presidents of the US, Israel and Palestine, as well as countless other intermediaries? If that is his attempt to make a last effort for some positive place in history I think he should throw all of his dwindling political authority behind it.

What I see as the biggest problem is that the Palestinian leader recognized by this process has no control over the Hamas, who now have control of Gaza, so he's not speaking as the leader of a unified Palestinian people. On top of that, there have been three generations between the ejection of Palestinians from their homes and communities, so any claim over those properties is nil.

This is also a battle that is as old as recorded history. The ethnic group that formed the Jewish civilization have fought against those of the Arab culture since their first inception, as slaves and as free people, so how anyone expects there to be peace between the two groups seems foolish.

A Mid-East peace conference should instead focus on how to politically stabilize the region as a whole, opening conversations with countries like Syria to try and find common ground, and discussing topics like nuclear disarmament and radical terrorism, or even, GASP!, economic stability, quality of health care and education, unemployment rates, and those other things that drive people to fundamentalism and violence.

When are we going to decide to have conversations focused on topics that are actually productive and constructive rather than theoretical and existential?

Continuing Saga of the CA Fires

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20071107/us_time/willachildbechargedinthefires

That is the latest story about the 10 year old attributed with starting one of the worst of the fires, accidentally while playing with matches. While I have trouble believing that he couldn't appreciate the danger of playing with matches, I don't think anyone would have thought their actions would have sparked something as catastrophic as the fire he is accused of starting. 21 homes were completely destroyed in the LA county fire he's associated with, and 3 people injured. People are angry, especially those who lost everything. I get it, they have that right. But punishing this kid by possibly holding a multi-million dollar bill over his head at 10? Whatever.

As I posted before, I reassert now that the true cause of the fires is the environmental state resulting from extreme drain on local natural resources. It's fine to identify the points of origin, especially if they are intentional, but holding a 10 year old accountable for a debt he couldn't dream of repaying is shifting anger and blame away from the responsibility people share for continuing to be the cause of their own problems.