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Wednesday, March 4, 2015

My letter to the NYTimes RE Netanyahu’s Nuclear Deceptions & What Bibi Didn’t Say & Mr. Netanyahu’s Unconvincing Speech to Congress

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RE Netanyahu’s Nuclear Deceptions & What Bibi Didn’t Say & Mr. Netanyahu’s Unconvincing Speech to Congress
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/04/opinion/benjamin-netanyahus-nuclear-deceptions-on-iran.html?ref=opinion
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/04/opinion/thomas-friedman-what-bibi-netanyahu-didnt-say.html?ref=opinion
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/04/opinion/netanyahu-israel-unconvincing-iran-speech-to-congress.html?ref=opinion


Dear Editor,

Our Congress's rapturous applause for Israel's Netanyahu was creepy- and misguided.  This is what our Congress really needs to hear: "Israeli extremists set fire to a Greek Orthodox seminary in the Old City of Jerusalem on Thursday and sprayed hate slogans on the walls, police said" and this "On Tuesday, extremist Jewish settlers set fire to a mosque in the southern West Bank town of al-Jaba west of Bethlehem, locals told Ma'an." Israeli extremists set fire to Christian seminary in Jerusalem Maan News 2-26-2015

And this: "Israeli aggression and the occupation of Palestinian territories have always been of major propaganda value for extremist recruitment... During the quarter-century that Mr. Netanyahu and his allies have tried to keep Iran’s nuclear program at the forefront of the global agenda, they increased the number of illegal settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to more than 750,000 from about 300,000. At the same time, Palestinians have continued to be evicted from their homes and land. This historic wrong, coupled with the blockade of Gaza, is the real ticking bomb in the Middle East. The whole world should work to defuse it by rising above petty politics and the lobbying of narrow-minded pressure groups." (Ambassador to the United Nations, Gholamali Khoshroo in the NYTimes 3-4-2015)

And this: "Given the U.S. commitment to religious freedom, and to the international covenants that guarantee it as the inalienable right of every human being, the United States seeks to: Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries..."  Diplomacy in Action- U.S. Department of State

And this:
Ziad Asali.

With the internet and the right priorities we, the people, have the power to help shape algorithms, conversations, organizations, and individuals that empower decency, dignity, justice & peace... and hopefully Palestine.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
American homemaker & poet

NOTES
"The battle against extremism can’t be really joined, let alone won, until the key societies, especially the United States and its key Arab allies, begin to seriously fund, support and promote the moderates in the trenches. Wealthy extremists have been very generous to their allies, which has been a major factor in the growth of terrorism in the Middle East. The mainstream has been a lot less forthcoming. Countless Arab and Muslim organisations around the world are struggling to promote one aspect or another of moderate politics or religiosity, but find themselves unable to secure even the most modest funding. Until that changes, we’re likely to hear more talk about the need for new narratives, but very little movement in that direction." Hussein Ibish We must tackle extremist ideas on multiple fronts

World Press Roundup: Middle East News

Think on: Banksy's tour of a ruined Gaza

"I paint; there are no galleries to show what I paint. A woman and an artist at the same time — this is a catastrophe.Palestinian artist Nidaa Badwan. NYTIMES: "Ms. Badwan speaks in poetry and moves, in rainbow-striped socks, like a dancer. When a truck rolled by outside blaring Hamas slogans, she made a sour face and yanked the window shut... READ MORE & share the link.
 “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” Khalil Gibran (1883-1931), born in Lebanon, immigrated to the United States in 1895 where he grew up to become a beloved poet and respected writer.

"There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies" Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968) American minister, humanitarian and social activist- a cherished leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, whose inspiring words continue to influence and empower diplomatic efforts to bring more justice, more security, more peace and more jobs to more people, every one and every where.



AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

Sunday, March 1, 2015

My letter to the NYTimes RE The Islamic State’s Most Recent Victims & For Artist in Gaza, a Small Refuge of Beauty

One of Ms. Badwan’s self-portraits from her artistic project, “100 Days of Solitude.” Credit Nidaa Badwan The artist Nidaa Badwan has hardly left her small room for more than a year, creating her own world of color and a striking set of self-portraits. 
RE The Islamic State’s Most Recent Victims & For Artist in Gaza, a Small Refuge of Beauty
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/opinion/the-islamic-states-most-recent-victims.html?ref=opinion
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/world/middleeast/finding-gaza-unbearable-artist-creates-her-own-world-in-one-room.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news


Dear Editor,

Your editorial "The Islamic State’s Most Recent Victims" was perfect. Every gripping sentence summary and conclusion, perfect.  So was Nicholas Kristof's column earlier this week "The Human Stain" so aptly subtitled "Israel squanders political capital and antagonizes even its friends with its naked land grab in the West Bank."

Adding in the alluring art of Palestinian Nidaa Badwan featured in The Saturday Profile For Artist in Gaza, a Small Refuge of Beauty, I find my self frankly shocked and actually hopeful as a much more balanced and helpful understanding of the Middle East takes hold in the influential New York Times. 

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
World Press Roundup: Middle East News
 “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” Khalil Gibran (1883-1931), born in Lebanon, immigrated to the United States in 1895 where he grew up to become a beloved poet and respected writer.

"There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies" Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968) American minister, humanitarian and social activist- a cherished leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, whose inspiring words continue to influence and empower diplomatic efforts to bring more justice, more security, more peace and more jobs to more people, every one and every where.




AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

Bansky... A Kitten (in Gaza)... The street artist, who previously created works on the wall of the West Bank, has made a series of new paintings across ruins in Palestine


A local man came up and said 'Please - what does this mean?' I explained I wanted to highlight the destruction in Gaza by posting photos on my website – but on the internet people only look at pictures of kittens.#banksy #gaza


Think on: Banksy's tour of a ruined Gaza 

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

A Rodin-riffing new work from Banksy amid devastation in Gaza. All photos: banksy.co.uk