Peace . . .

The Palestinian president's recent comments on the refugee issue got a rise out of both Palestinians and Israelis.  The long-forgotten prospect of peace negotiations re-entered the Israeli consciousness while Palestinians branded their leader a traitor.

Abbas was asked about his birthplace of Safed  and his response included remarks to the effect that he does not claim the right to live there.  The President's advisor said he was being "realistic" by making such statements.   Bringing back 5.5 million Palestinian refugees is certainly not realistic.

Disappointment was felt by Palestinians that their leader made an overture to Israel without any reciprocation.   Some went so far as to say Abbas is a failure.

Comments of the like, of course, prompted a little two-stepping with additional comments that what he said was a personal position and it did not mean conceding the right of return.

Political opponent Hamas completely rejects the idea of negotiation and believe that only violence will gain what Palestinians desire.

Cool reaction from Netanyahu In Israel, officials debated how serious Abbas was. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his Cabinet reacted coolly, even mistrustfully, to Abbas' remarks.

And complicating the issue with an uncharacteristic burst of honesty, Israel lately admitted killing a deputy of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.  Thank goodness Israeli moderates view these developments as a chance to negotiate with a person they consider a partner for peacemaking.

The world can only hope that this could at long last revive the prospect of peace in the area.
(Source:  NBC News)

What do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

You can NOW download your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

Please visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

The flower always dies eventually
Despite your noble efforts to preserve it the fact remains
You water and you nurture lovingly
Displaying all its beauty so that everyone can see
It's not for me alone
All beauty lasts but temporarily

If only things you love could always be
This would be a perfect world right here and now
No need to grieve
But wishes are the stuff of children's dreams
And we all know that dreams are gone
Before the dawning of another day
All beauty lasts but temporarily

Day
It can just disappear without a warning at all
And no matter how hard you try to understand
You won't

Like many of this life's anomalies
Such beauty and such desolation
Side by side can be
It doesn't become easier with time
All the experience in this world
Can't relieve the ache we feel
All beauty lasts but temporarily

What do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

You can NOW download your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

Please visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Tired. . .

. . . of talk about elections, campaigns, lies, exaggeration, unwarranted emotional appeals, polls, pleas, money, news, pundits, editorials, presidential candidates, voting machines, small business, taxes, rich,  job makers, entitlements, terrorists, embassies, security. . . well you get the picture.

[Remember, vote early, vote often.]

What do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

You can NOW download your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

Please visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Ceremony. . .

. . . at its best?

No 'white smoke' for these folks.

(from nbcnews.com)
". . . Egypt's Coptic Orthodox church chose a new pope, Bishop Tawadros, in a sumptuous service on Sunday that Christians hope will lead them through an Islamist-dominated landscape and protect what is the Middle East's biggest Christian community.

Many Christians in Egypt, who make up about a tenth of the population of 83 million, are worried about political gains made by Islamists since Hosni Mubarak was ousted last year. They have long complained of discrimination in Muslim-majority Egypt.

In a ritual steeped in tradition and filled with prayer, chants and incense at Abbasiya cathedral in Cairo, the names of three candidates chosen in an earlier vote were placed in a wax-sealed bowl before a blindfolded boy picked out one name.

Copts believe this long-established process ensured worldly influences did not determine the successor to Pope Shenouda III, who led the church for four decades until his death in March at the age of 88.

"Pope Tawadros II is the 118th (leader of the church), blessed congratulations to you," said interim Pope Bakhomious, dressed in gold-embroidered robes, who has temporarily been in the post since Shenouda's death. . ."

What do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

You can NOW download your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

Please visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Control. . .

I guess it's beyond my control.  

YouTube offers a wonderful opportunity for folks to express themselves, present talents and abilities, show the world practically ANYTHING that they want.  Yeah so it doesn't cost me anything to post my videos on YouTube.  And now they've provided me the option to get paid by allowing ads to run on my videos.  It's truly great.

I do however, resent the fact that the pop-ups that appear on videos are beyond my control.  Let me make this absolutely clear. . .  I would not encourage anyone to contribute $5 (or any amount, for that matter) to Mitt Romney's campaign even though I saw a pop-up on MY OWN VIDEO that urged watchers to do the same.

See if it appears on this one. . .

What do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

You can NOW download your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

Please visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Reel. . .

. . . I mean REAL. . . the real deal!

(from http://www.raybly.com/)
"Ray Bly
U.S. Congress, District 2
My run for 2010 Congress
Why I am disillusioned about America is because of the money involved in getting elected to office. It takes millions of dollars to become a U.S.

Congressman and millions more to become a Senator and hundreds of millions to become President. The average campaign for a candidate for office costs them $1 to as much as $10 a vote and I've heard it's gone as high as $30 a vote. The only way you can get this money is from special interests and the corporate world and of course, if you get elected with corporate and special interest money, you have to vote on behalf of these groups. This is why our government for close to a century is now wholly owned and controlled by our special interests and our corporate world. No candidate wants to stand up against them because they will not get elected, or get the money they need to run."

What do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

You can NOW download your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

Please visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

The Point . . .

 

. . . of view of an atheist . . .

(From God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens)
". . . This raises gigantic objections to the argument from "design," whether we choose to call that design "intelligent" or not.  Clearly, the human species is designed to experiment with sex.  No less clearly, this fact is well-known to the priesthoods.  When Dr. Samuel Johnson had completed the first real dictionary of the English language, he was visited by a delegation of respectable old ladies who wished to congratulate him for not including any indecent words.  His response - which was that he was interested to see that the ladies had been looking them up - contains almost all that needs to be said on this point.  Orthodox Jews conduct congress by means of a hole in the sheet, and subject their women to ritual baths to cleanse the stain of menstruation.  Muslims subject adulterers to public lashings with a whip.  Christians used to lick their lips while examining women for signs of witchcraft.  I need not go on in this vein: any reader of this book will know of a vivid example, or will simply guess my meaning. . . "

What do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

You can NOW download your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

Please visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet