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Friday, September 30, 2016

 The Shimon Peres Palestinians Can’t Forget

 The Shimon Peres Palestinians Can’t Forget

The bulk of his career actually undermined the peace he claimed to be seeking.



https://www.thenation.com/article/the-shimon-peres-palestinians-cant-forget/

Russia-Baiting and Risks of Nuclear War


Russia-Baiting and Risks of Nuclear War

Exclusive: The propaganda war on Russia is spinning out of control with a biased investigation blaming Moscow for the MH-17 tragedy and angry exchanges over Syria, raising the risks of nuclear war, says ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern.
By Ray McGovern
As U.S. and Russian officials trade barbed threats and as diplomacy on Syria is “on the verge” of extinction, it is tempting to view the ongoing propaganda exchange over who shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in July 2014 as a side-show. That would be a huge mistake – easily made by President Obama’s wet-behind-the-ears sophomoric advisers who seem to know very little of the history of U.S.-Russia relations and appear smug in their ignorance.https://consortiumnews.com/2016/09/30/russia-baiting-and-risks-of-nuclear-war/

Israel's $38 Billion Scam

Israel's $38 Billion Scam
Bibi wants more and Congress might deliver

Taking Jesus at His Word: Forgiveness



Discover Hope With Us
Taking Jesus at His Word: Forgiveness


There was a school shooting on October 2, 2006. That alone, sadly, is no longer impossible to imagine; but what the public did find nearly impossible to imagine was the response of the victims’ families and community.

Because before they even grieved, they forgave.

The victims were all Amish girls between the ages of six and 13; their killer was a non-Amish man named Charlie Roberts. But the Amish community didn’t cast blame. No one pointed a finger, no one held a press conference with attorneys at their side. Instead, the community reached out to the killer’s family with grace and compassion.

The very afternoon of the shooting one of the girls’ grandfather expressed forgiveness toward the killer. That same day Amish neighbors visited the Roberts family to comfort them in their sorrow and pain. There were more Amish than non-Amish at Charlie Roberts’ funeral: "Several families,” writes author Donald Kraybill, “Amish families, who had buried their own daughters just the day before, were in attendance, and they hugged the widow and hugged other members of the killer's family."

And the world looked on in shock.
Forgive yourself, forgive others. Be grateful for all you are, all who have touched your life, and for God’s many blessings. Surrounding us all is a padding called forgiveness. Reach for it like a wish, then feel its power.
Carol Gordon Ekster
News outlet after news outlet rushed to account for this extraordinary behavior. Amish culture, they explained, adheres to the teachings of Jesus, who told his followers to forgive one another, to place the needs of others before themselves, and to rest in the knowledge that God is still in control and can bring good out of any situation. Love and compassion toward others are life’s theme. Vengeance and revenge are left to God.

For the Amish, it was simple. The Gospel says to forgive: they forgave. Every day they pray, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The thing is, we pray those same words, but most of us don’t live them out that completely in our lives. We say that we have to draw the line somewhere, that there are actions that simply cannot be forgiven.

Like the shooting of ten little girls?

In our Catholic tradition, there are people who take the Gospel as seriously as the Amish do, who live Jesus’ teachings every day. And that is so extraordinary that we call those people saints. But Jesus’ words aren’t just for the Amish, or the saints: they’re for us. We have the same expectation of forgiveness, and the same opportunity to follow the Gospel’s mandates. Forgiveness is not optional. Learning to forgive may take a lifetime, but it is an essential lesson.

Blessed Lord, as we remember this anniversary of the worst a human being can do to others, help us to learn from our Amish brothers and sisters, and truly forgive with all our hearts. Amen.

WPR Articles Sept. 23 — Sept. 30


WPR Articles Sept. 23 — Sept. 30

Who Will Save the Yazidis?

By: Mark S. Smith | Briefing
Earlier this month, the U.N. for the first time named a victim of human trafficking as a goodwill ambassador for the dignity of survivors of such atrocities. Nadia Murad Basee Taha, who survived captivity as a sex slave of ISIS, gives an international voice to brutalized young Yazidi women and children.

How the EU Can Use Russia Energy Ties to Keep Ukraine Tensions in Check

By: Nikolas Gvosdev | Briefing
Geopolitical strategies to keep the peace appear to be breaking down in Ukraine, but Europe has a geo-economic approach for managing the conflict: energy. Ukraine and Russia are bound together in a mutual web of dependence on transiting Russian gas that acts as a brake on escalation.

Maori Remain Marginalized in New Zealand Society and Government

By: The Editors | Trend Lines
A new report shows that white New Zealanders are more likely to be given a warning by police for minor crimes than indigenous Maori, who are more likely to be charged, confirming what advocates say is the bias of the justice system. In an email interview, Margaret Mutu discusses Maori rights in New Zealand.

Can the Center Hold? State Fragility Comes to the U.S. and France

By: Judah Grunstein | Column
In the jargon of the foreign policy community, the key to preventing instability and restoring order is good governance. Yet in the U.S. and France, political legitimacy has been eroded not by the lack of good governance, but by policies pursued through institutions that seem to meet all the criteria for it.

Constitutional Rights Do Little to Ensure Gender Equality in Senegal

By: The Editors | Trend Lines
A group of grandmothers on the outskirts of Senegal’s capital, Dakar, are using their influence to promote modern health care and medicine in a bid to improve women’s health, a plan that many hope can be replicated across the country. In an email interview, Hawa Ba discusses women’s rights in Senegal.

Can the U.S. Pursue Consensus in Latin America and Still Support Democracy?

By: The Editors | Trend Lines
In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, and host Peter Dörrie discuss Central America’s “other” migrant crisis, U.S. military engagement in Africa, and reforming WHO funding. For the Report, Eric Farnsworth joins us to explore Obama’s approach to Latin America.

Facing the Effects of Climate Change, the Caribbean Focuses on Adaptation

By: The Editors | Trend Lines
According to a recent U.N. report, climate change will cause more frequent and severe droughts in the Caribbean and its seven water-stressed countries. That will affect agriculture, with the risk of food shortages. In an email interview, Carlos Fuller discusses the region’s climate change policy.

How Far Can the U.S. Military Go to Building a Technology-Enhanced ‘Super Soldier’?

By: Steven Metz | Column
Technology that will have a profound impact on the U.S. military is on the way. Some innovations will simply make military hardware more effective. But others have the potential to change humans themselves. As this technology matures, it will face mounting political opposition, for good reason.

New Drug Routes Through Lawless Libya Raise Questions About ISIS’ Role

By: Frederick Deknatel | Trend Lines
The New York Times recently reported on new routes for smuggling hashish from Morocco to Europe via Libya that raise suspicions about whether ISIS is profiting off the drug trade. While Libya’s criminal economy has flourished, there are risks in overstating the links between drug smuggling and terrorism.

U.S. Military Assistance to Africa Is Growing. But Is It Succeeding?

By: Nathaniel D.F. Allen | Briefing
U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, has turned into an integral player in responding to African security challenges. But its expanding mandate is dogged by the reality that the relationship between combating terrorism, safeguarding national interests and fostering political stability is not always clear.

Could the U.N. Survive a Trump Presidency Intact?

By: Richard Gowan | Column
It is time for a serious assessment of what a Donald Trump presidency would mean for the U.N. For most of this year, this prospect has seemed little more than a topic for passing drollery. With the U.S. elections just over 40 days away and opinion polls suggesting a tight race, it seems less funny.

Will Obama Be America’s Last Free-Trade President?

By: Erik Brattberg | Briefing
As president, Barack Obama has adopted the traditional bipartisan orthodoxy in Washington on free trade. But as his administration draws to a close, free trade has become a poisonous issue in the current American presidential campaign, making the future of Obama’s trade legacy increasingly uncertain.

Can U.S. Intelligence Restore Public Trust on Balancing Secrecy and Openness?

By: Ellen Laipson | Column
Last week, CIA Director John Brennan expressed his commitment to regaining the trust of the American public. The intelligence community’s efforts deserve recognition, even if striking the balance between secrecy and openness remains a subjective call, one ultimately made by those who hold the secrets.

Discontent Is Rising as Suriname Tries to Fix Its Flailing Economy

By: The Editors | Associated Press
Corruption and falling commodities prices have many worried that Suriname is turning into the next Venezuela. Businesses are closing; inflation is rising; and the economy is predicted to contract by 2 percent this year. In an email interview, Robert Looney discusses the economic crisis in Suriname.

Many Syrian Refugees Aren’t Going Anywhere. They Need the Right to Work

By: Saskia van Genugten, Lorraine Charles | Briefing
The world has begun to sense the permanence of Syria’s refugee crisis. Those who have fled violence are unlikely to return home anytime soon. Host countries and donors are now focusing on how to provide sustainable livelihoods and integrate Syrians, in particular by bringing them into the workforce.

Why Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs Are the Key to Diversified Growth

By: Ernest Nti Acheampong | Feature
Africa’s youth-heavy population can transform the continent’s economy, insulating itself from the perils of a resource-driven approach. Some governments, notably Ghana and Kenya, are taking the lead. But hurdles remain, from poor funding to corruption, slowing the pace of bottom-up entrepreneurship.

Tunisia’s Democratic Gains Have Done Nothing for Its LGBT Community

By: Karina Piser | Trend Lines
Last week, five Tunisian civil society groups submitted a report to the United Nations, decrying systemic attacks on members of Tunisia’s LGBT community. Despite progress since the overthrow of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, many say that discrimination has worsened over the past five years.

Don’t Count Iran’s Nascent Space Capabilities Out

By: The Editors | Trend Lines
The head of Iran’s space agency announced plans to launch three satellites into orbit within the next year: the Doutsi earth-observation satellite, the Tolou remote sensing satellite and the Aat Sat telecommunications satellite. In an email interview, John B. Sheldon discusses Iran’s space program.

New European Border Agency a Rare Show of Unity for a Fractured EU

By: Maria Savel | Trend Lines
The new European Border and Coast Guard was formally approved this month and is due to enter into force in a few weeks. EU member states have shown increasingly rare unity over the need to protect Europe’s borders, even though divisions over how to handle the migrant crisis are as prevalent as ever.

The World Needs a Peace Treaty Between Men and Women

By: Valerie M. Hudson | Briefing
The world must find a way to end violence and discrimination against women. In any other context, the violence committed by men against women would be considered warfare. When the two halves of the population do not live in peace with one another, how is it possible to eliminate other forms of instability?

Will Anti-Trade Sentiment in the U.S. and Europe Lead to Reform or Catastrophe?

By: Frida Ghitis | Column
At Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s first presidential debate Monday evening, there was one topic on which their positions were not diametrically opposed: trade. Skepticism about the benefits of free trade has changed the tone of the discussion about a matter many economists believed had been settled.

Deal to End Guinea-Bissau’s Deadlock Instead Stokes Risk of Another Coup

By: Charles Pembroke | Briefing
Earlier this month, Guinea-Bissau’s political factions agreed to a six-point roadmap to form a consensus government and end more than a year of deadlock. But the ambitious deal is unlikely to overcome the deep divisions within Guinea-Bissau’s parliament or address the fundamental drivers of instability.

How Innovation and Youth Can Transform African Economies

By: The Editors | Trend Lines
In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, and host Peter Dörrie discuss discrimination against women, politics in Guinea-Bissau, and Syrian refugees’ right to work. For the Report, Ernest Nti Acheampong joins us to talk about young entrepreneurs in Africa.

To Prevail Against Violent Extremism, the U.S. Needs Universal National Service

By: Steven Metz | Column
America’s conflict with violent Islamic extremism will require a multigenerational effort. One initiative could help steel national will for that fight, reinforce a sense of shared national purpose, and shrink the pool of young Americans willing to become terrorists: universal national service.

CGN boss: The UK is the perfect country to showcase China’s nuclear expertise

CGN boss: The UK is the perfect country to showcase China’s nuclear expertise

Why are we threatening millions of U.S. jobs without debating the facts?

Why are we threatening millions of U.S. jobs without debating the facts?

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/themexicoinstitute/2016/09/30/why-are-we-threatening-millions-of-u-s-jobs-without-debating-the-facts/#12a7c66d5c4e 

The Week with IPS

   2016/9/30

Click here for the online version of this IPS newsletter   

Take a Deep Breath? But 9 in 10 People Worldwide Live with Excessive Air Pollution!
Baher Kamal
The warning is sharp and the facts, alarming: 92 per cent of the world’s population live in places where levels exceed recommended limits. And 6.5 million people die annually from air pollution. And the warning comes from the leading United Nations agency dealing with health, which rolled out ... MORE > >

Making the Goals: Why Sustainable Development Must Be Integrated Development
Roger-Mark De Souza and Sono Aibe
By recognising how closely connected the different aspects of sustainable development are, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) create an important opportunity - and challenge - for a more coordinated approach to implementing development policies. The multi-faceted, interlinked nature of ... MORE > >

Uncertainty Mars Potential for Peace in South Sudan
Jonathan Rozen
Nearly one month after UN Security Council members visited troubled South Sudan, disagreement reigns over even the limited outside measures proposed to try to bring the security situation in the world's newest country under control. “To fix South Sudan you will need 250,000 soldiers, you ... MORE > >

Colombia Referendum - First Acid Test for Peace
Constanza Vieira
It was like a huge party in Colombia. “Congratulations!” people said to each other, before hugging. “Only 20 minutes to go!” one office worker said, hurrying on her way to Bolívar square, in the heart of Bogotá. And everyone knew what she was talking about, and hurried along too. Complete strangers ... MORE > >

Two years on, Peña Nieto cannot brush off Ayotzinapa stain
Erika Guevara-Rosas
There are certain events that mark a turning point in a country. The way a government decides to handle them defines the way they will go down in the history books. This week marks two years since 43 students from a rural school in southern Mexico were forcibly disappeared after a brutal ... MORE > >

Global South Address Sustainable Development Challenges
Tharanga Yakupitiyage
On Friday, a group of 134 developing nations, known as the Group of 77 (G77), came together for a meeting to address challenges and solutions in achieving sustainable development. In attendance were G-77 Foreign Ministers, the President of the General Assembly, the UN Secretary-General and other UN ... MORE > >

Governments Band Together to Address Antibiotic Resistance
Lyndal Rowlands
The looming threat of a world where even minor infections are deadly has led governments to commit to collective action against antibiotic resistance at the UN General Assembly earlier this week. However for many developing countries addressing this growing problem will also involve tackling ... MORE > >

Mexico City’s Expansion Creates Tension between Residents and Authorities
Emilio Godoy
People living in neighborhoods affected by the expansion of urban construction suffer a “double displacement”, with changes in their habitat and the driving up of prices in the area, in a process in which “we are not taken into account,” said Natalia Lara, a member of an assembly of local residents ... MORE > >

Bernie Sanders’s Rosh Hashanah Sermon — and Its Radical Lesson for All Liberals

Bernie Sanders’s Rosh Hashanah Sermon — and Its Radical Lesson for All Liberals


http://forward.com/opinion/351129/bernie-sanderss-rosh-hashanah-sermon-and-its-radical-lesson-for-all-liberal/?utm_content=daily_Newsletter_MainList_Title_Position-1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New%20Weekly%202016-09-30&utm_term=Weekly%20%2B%20Daily

Medea Benjamin: If Americans Can Sue Saudis Over 9/11, Drone Victims Should Be Able to Sue the US

Amy Goodman and Juan González, Democracy Now!: "Finally, we have an example of the US Congress putting US citizens above the relationship with the Saudi government," says CODEPINK's Medea Benjamin in response to the vote by Congress to allow Americans to sue Saudi Arabia over the 9/11 attacks, overriding President Obama's veto of the bill.

The Super-Rich Are Cruising the Arctic's New Passageway as the World Burns

Dahr Jamail, Truthout: This summer, a luxury cruise ship was able to sail across the Arctic for the first time -- a feat made possible by planetary warming. As Arctic summer sea ice melts away, corporations are taking advantage of the opportunity to launch cruises in the extremely fragile, once-pristine Arctic ecosystem.

Thoughts on relief for atomic bomb survivors since Obama's visit to Hiroshima


Thoughts on relief for atomic bomb survivors since Obama's visit to Hiroshima


Attached is a Lancet article "Thoughts on relief for atomic bomb survivors since Obama's visit to Hiroshima" that proposes aid to Hiroshima/Nagasaki survivors for "...relief provided for atomic bomb sufferers has only been for health damage caused by the radiation from the atomic bomb and not for the health damage caused by the physical explosion of the bomb... every successful legal trial aimed at obtaining relief for survivors used health damage caused by radiation as the main justification. Therefore, damage due to radiation could be misunderstood as representing the entire damage caused by atomic bombs and this misunderstanding could be the cause of the excessive fear of radiation that started in Japan and spread across the globe."

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)31728-7/fulltext?elsca1=etoc

A Video That Made Me Understand What It Feels Like to Be Elderly and Alone


A Video That Made Me Understand What It Feels Like to Be Elderly and Alone

http://catholic-link.org/2016/09/30/a-video-that-shows-what-it-feels-like-to-be-elderly-and-alone/?utm_source=Catholic-Link+English&utm_campaign=6839b2789f-Catholic-Link+English+%28Daily%29&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_aa5ba3e9fa-6839b2789f-70952393&mc_cid=6839b2789f&mc_eid=e64eeb87b8

China’s renminbi joins elite global reserve currency club — FT.com

China’s renminbi joins elite global reserve currency club — FT.com

Trump Courts Adelson, Flip-Flops on Israel-Palestine


Trump Courts Adelson, Flip-Flops on Israel-Palestine


http://lobelog.com/trump-courts-adelson-flip-flops-on-israel-palestine/

Russian-Syrian Push on Aleppo in Full Swing. US Deciding Whether to Ramp up Support for Terrorist Child Beheaders or Start WW3


Russian-Syrian Push on Aleppo in Full Swing. US Deciding Whether to Ramp up Support for Terrorist Child Beheaders or Start WW3

US officials are discussing air raids against Syrian government and army

http://russia-insider.com/en/russian-syrian-push-aleppo-full-swing-us-deciding-whether-ramp-support-terrorist-child-beheaders-or

Ancient City Found in India, Irradiated from Atomic Blast - वेद Veda

Ancient City Found in India, Irradiated from Atomic Blast - वेद Veda

Global cost of India-Pakistan nuclear war: 21 million dead, ozone layer destroyed and more

Global cost of India-Pakistan nuclear war: 21 million dead, ozone layer destroyed and more

3D-printed bones? New 'hyperelastic' material could let doctors print implants on demand | ZDNet

3D-printed bones? New 'hyperelastic' material could let doctors print implants on demand | ZDNet

Former CIA Contractor: 'US Has Always Been Main Sponsor of Islamic State' | The Daily Sheeple

Former CIA Contractor: 'US Has Always Been Main Sponsor of Islamic State' | The Daily Sheeple

3D-printed bones? New 'hyperelastic' material could let doctors print implants on demand | ZDNet

3D-printed bones? New 'hyperelastic' material could let doctors print implants on demand | ZDNet

From a $50 burger to a $398 tasting menu: S.F.'s most outrageously priced food - SFGate

From a $50 burger to a $398 tasting menu: S.F.'s most outrageously priced food - SFGate

UN Says 'Racial Terrorism' Against Black People in the US Endures, Calls for Reparations

UN Says 'Racial Terrorism' Against Black People in the US Endures, Calls for Reparations

Employment picture darkens for journalists at digital outlets - Columbia Journalism Review

Employment picture darkens for journalists at digital outlets - Columbia Journalism Review

Jim Comey’s Blind Eye - WSJ

Jim Comey’s Blind Eye - WSJ

Don’t Believe the Claims That the U.S. Is Giving Away the Internet


Don’t Believe the Claims That the U.S. Is Giving Away the Internet

Tech companies and Internet policy experts urge Congress not to give in to erroneous arguments about Internet oversight.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602411/dont-believe-the-claims-that-the-us-is-giving-away-the-internet/?utm_source=MIT+TR+Newsletters&utm_campaign=20405296de-The_Download_September_29_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_997ed6f472-20405296de-153856085&goal=0_997ed6f472-20405296de-153856085&mc_cid=20405296de&mc_eid=e25735476a

Uri Avnery Guest Post: Abu-Mazen's Balance Sheet

Uri Avnery
September 30, 2016       

                                   Abu-Mazen's Balance Sheet

MAHMOUD ABBAS was not present at my first meeting with Yasser Arafat during the siege of Beirut in the First Lebanon War. That was, it may be remembered, the first meeting ever between Arafat and an Israeli.
Some months later, in January 1983, a meeting was set up between Arafat and the delegation of the Israeli Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, consisting of (retired) General Matti Peled, former Director General of the Treasury Yaakov Arnon and myself.
At Tunis airport, a PLO official asked us to meet with Abbas before meeting with Arafat himself. Abbas was in charge of relations with Israelis. Until then I had heard about him only from the two senior PLO members with whom I had conducted secret talks – Said Hamami (who was murdered) and Issam Sartawi (who was murdered). 
My first impression of Abu Mazen (the nom-de-guerre of Abbas) was that he was very different from Arafat, that he was indeed the total opposite. Arafat was a warm person, flamboyant, extrovert, touching, hugging. Abbas is a cool person, introvert, matter-of-fact. (Mazan, by the way, is Hebrew for "balance sheet")
Arafat was the perfect national liberation leader, and took care to look that way. He always wore a uniform. Abbas looks like a high-school principal and always wears a European suit.
WHEN ARAFAT founded Fatah at the end of the 1950s in Kuwait, Abbas was one of the first who joined. He is one of the "founders".
That was not easy. Almost all the Arab governments disliked the new-born group, which claimed to speak for the Palestinian people. At the time, each Arab government claimed to represent the Palestinians itself and tried to exploit the Palestinian cause for its own purposes. Arafat and his people took that cause out of their hands, and were therefore persecuted all over the Arab world.
After that first meeting with Abbas, I met him on all my visits to Tunis. I conferred first with Abbas, discussing plans for possible actions to promote peace between our two peoples. When we had agreed on possible initiatives, Abbas would say: "Now we shall submit this to the Ra'is." 
We moved to Arafat's office and put forward the proposals we had devised. When we had hardly finished, Arafat would say "Yes" or "No" without the slightest hesitation. I was always impressed by his quickness of mind and his capacity for making decisions. (One of his Palestinian opponents told me once: "He is the leader because he is the only one courageous enough to make decisions.")
In the presence of Arafat, Abu-Mazen's place was clear: Arafat was the leader who made the decisions, Abbas was an advisor and assistant, like all the other "Abus" – Abu-Jihad (who was murdered), Abu-Iyad (who was murdered) and Abu-Alaa (who is still alive).
On one of my visits to Tunis, I was asked to do a personal favor: to bring Abbas a book about the Kasztner trial. Abu-Mazen was writing a doctoral thesis for a university in Moscow about the cooperation between Nazis and Zionists – a theme very popular in Soviet times. (Israel Kasztner was a Zionist functionary when the Nazis invaded Hungary. He tried to save Jews by negotiating with Adolf Eichmann.) 
ARAFAT DID not send Abbas to Oslo, because Abbas was already too recognizable. Instead he sent Abu-Alaa, the unknown financial expert of the PLO. The entire operation was initiated by Arafat, and I assume that Abbas had a part in it. In Israel, there was a quarrel between Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres (who died this week) and Yossi Beilin about who deserved the glory, but the Oslo initiative actually came from the Palestinian side. The Palestinians initiated, the Israelis reacted. (That explains, by the way, the sad story of the Oslo agreement.)
As I have already pointed out in a previous article, the Nobel Prize committees awarded the peace prize to Arafat and Rabin. Peres' friends around the world raised hell, so the committee added Peres to the list. Justice demanded that Abbas, too, should receive the prize, but the Nobel statutes allow only for three laureates. So Abbas did not get the prize. That was a glaring injustice, but Abbas kept quiet.
When Arafat returned to Palestine, all the festivities were held for him. That evening, when I made my way among the delirious crowds around Arafat’s temporary HQ in Hotel Palestine, Abbas was nowhere to be seen.
Afterwards Abbas remained in the shadows. Obviously, he got other tasks and was no longer in charge of contacts with Israelis. I saw Arafat many times, and twice I served as a "human shield" in his Ramallah office, when Ariel Sharon threatened his life. I saw Abbas only two or three times (I remember a picture: once, when Arafat insisted on taking the hands of my wife Rachel and me and led us to the entrance of the building, we came across Abbas. We shook hands, exchanged civilities, and that was that.) 
Rachel and Abbas were of the same age and both had spent much of their childhood in Safed. Her father had a clinic on Safed's Mount Canaan and once we speculated if as a boy Abbas had been treated by him.
WHEN ARAFAT DIED (murdered, I believe), Abbas was his natural successor. As a founding member, he was acceptable to everyone. Farouk Kaddoumi, of equal rank, is an adherent of the Baath regime in Damascus and rejected Oslo. He did not return to Palestine.
I met Abbas at Arafat's mourning ceremony at the Mukata'a. He sat next to the chief of Egyptian intelligence. After we shook hands, I saw from the corner of my eye that he tried to explain to the Egyptian who I am.
Since then, Abbas has served as the president of the "Palestinian National Authority". This is one of the most difficult jobs on earth.
A national government under occupation is compelled to tread a very narrow line. It can fall any minute on one side (collaboration with the enemy) or on the other side (suppression by the occupation authorities).
At the age of 17, when I was a member of the Irgun, my company held a mock trial for Philippe Petain, the marshal put by the Nazis at the head of the Vichy government functioning under Nazi rule in "unoccupied" Southern France.
My job was to "defend" Petain. I said that he was a French patriot, who tried to save what could be saved after the collapse of France and to ensure that France would be still there at the hour of victory.
But when victory came, Petain was condemned to death and saved only by the wisdom of his enemy, Charles de Gaulle, the leader of Free France.
There is no possibility of safeguarding freedom under occupation. Anyone trying to do so finds himself on a slippery slope, trying to satisfy the occupier and to protect his people from harm. In the course of the years the Vichy regime was compelled to collaborate with the Germans, step by step, from the persecution of the underground to the expulsion of the Jews.  
Moreover, where there is an authority, even under occupation, interest groups spring up. Some people acquire an interest in the status quo and support the occupation. Pierre Laval, an opportunist French politician, rose to the top in Vichy, and quite a lot of French people gathered around him. In the end, he was executed. 
NOW ABBAS finds himself in a similar situation. An impossible situation. He plays poker with the occupation authorities, when they hold all the four aces, and he has in his hand nothing but one minor card.
He sees his job as guarding the occupied Palestinian population until the day of deliverance – until the day Israel is compelled to give up the occupation in all its forms – the settlements, the stealing of the land, the oppression.
Compelled to give up – but how?
Abbas objects to the violent resistance ("terrorism"). I believe that he is right in this. Israel has a huge army, the occupation has no moral brakes (see: Elor Azaria). The acts of the "martyrs" may reinforce the national pride of the Palestinian population, but they make the occupation worse and lead nowhere.
Abbas has adopted a strategy of international action. He is investing a large part of his resources in achieving a pro-Palestinian UN resolution, a resolution that will condemn the occupation and the settlements and recognize Palestine as a full-fledged UN member. At this moment, Binyamin Netanyahu is afraid that President Obama might use the two months of irresponsibility - between election day and the end of his term of office – to let such a resolution pass.  
So what? Will this reinforce in any way the world's struggle against the Israeli occupation? Will this lower by one dollar the US aid to Israel? In the past, successive Israeli governments have ignored dozens of UN resolutions, and Israel's international position has only improved.
The Palestinians are not a stupid people. They know all these facts. A victory in the UN will gladden their hearts, but they know that it will do very little to help them in practice.
I DO not give advice to the Palestinians. I have always believed that a member of the occupying people has no right to give advice to the occupied people.
But I allow myself to think aloud, and these thoughts bring me to the conviction that the only effective method for an occupied people is civil disobedience – total non-violent popular opposition to the occupation, total disobedience to the foreign conqueror.
This method was refined by the Indian opposition to the British occupation. Its leader, Mahatma Gandhi, was an unusual personality, a moral person with a lot of practical political acumen. In India, some tens of thousands of military and civilian British personnel faced more than a million Indians. Civil disobedience put an end to the occupation.
In our country, the balance of power is extremely different. But the principle is the same: no government can function for long when faced by a population that refuses to cooperate with it in any way.
In such a struggle, violence is always implemented by the occupation. The occupation is always violent. Therefore, in a non-violent struggle of civil disobedience, many Palestinians will get killed, the general suffering will increase a lot. But such a struggle will win. It always did when applied anywhere.
The world, which is expressing deep sympathy with the Palestinian people while cooperating with the occupation regime, will be compelled to intervene.
And, most importantly, the Israeli public, which is now looking at what is happening a few dozen miles from their homes as if it was happening in Honolulu, will wake up. The best of our people will join the political struggle. The weak peace camp will become strong again.
THE OCCUPATION regime is well aware of this danger. It tries to weaken Abbas by any means. It accuses Abbas of "incitement" – meaning opposition to the occupation – as if he were a brutal enemy. All this while the security forces of Abbas openly cooperate with the occupation police and army.
In practice, the occupation strengthens the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip, which hates Abbas.
The relations between Hamas and the Israeli government go back a long way. In the first years of the occupation, when any kind of political activity in the occupied territories was strictly forbidden, only Islamists were allowed to be active. First, because it was impossible to close the mosques, and second, because the occupation authorities believed that the enmity of religious Muslims towards the secular PLO would weaken Arafat.
This illusion disappeared at the beginning of the first intifada, when Hamas was founded and rapidly became the most militant resistance organization. But even then the occupation authorities saw in Hamas a positive element, because it divided the Palestinian struggle.
It must be remembered that the separate Gaza Strip is an Israeli invention. In the Oslo agreement, Israel undertook to open four "safe passages" between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Under the influence of the army, Rabin violated this obligation right from the beginning. As a result, the West Bank was totally cut off from the Strip – and the present situation is a direct result of that.
People everywhere wonder why Netanyahu daily denounces Abbas as an "inciter" and "sponsor of terror", while not mentioning Hamas. To solve this mystery, one must understand that the Israeli Right does not fear war, but is afraid of international pressure – and therefore the "moderate" Abbas is much more dangerous than the "terrorist" Hamas.
CIVIL RESISTANCE will not happen in the near future. The Palestinian public is not yet ripe for it. Also, Abbas is not the suitable leader for such a struggle. He is not a Palestinian Gandhi, nor a second Mandela.
Abu-Mazen is the leader of a people trying to survive in impossible circumstances – until the situation takes a turn.

Why It’s Safe to Scrap America’s ICBMs

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/30/opinion/why-its-safe-to-scrap-americas-icbms.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share

The New York Times | Op-Ed Contributor

Why It’s Safe to Scrap America’s ICBMs