--- Begin Message --->I like Dan Russell, and I respect his work and look forward to working with him in the future, even if I disagree with him on some issues.Ditto. What he knows about, he knows more about than anybody else that i ever heard of. His anthro-pharmacology is superb. He seems to be a pretty nice guy, too. But he IS wrong about the Arab/Israeli conflict. Simplistic blame casting wont solve a thing. BOTH sides have behaved abominably towards each other. The blame lies, not with one side or another. It lies with the leaders. I don't care who started it, they should stand down immediately. Unfortunately, it's not up to the ordinary people, the ones who actually suffer. It's up to the leaders, all of whom have to much to personally gain by prolonging the conflict. Dan is not the only one here who has failed to think this all the way through. And it’s not like he lacks the brain power to do it, either. Dan is a BRIGHT guy. But it is EXTREMELY difficult for anyone to look at this objectively. Jews see Jews being killed. Arabs see Arabs being killed. The rest of us see people whose main distinguishing characteristic is that they wear different head gear, presumably so they can tell each other apart in a hurry in a fight in the dark. The rest of us are getting mighty fed up with the antics of BOTH sides. It is only natural to stick up for one's own. A Jew who doesn’t stick up for Israeli’s right to live in peace is a might strange character, indeed. That doesn't make it right and it doesn't make it smart to support all of Israel’s policies. This kind of thinking is the root of the problem. It is not about Arab versus Jews. It's about Arab pawns and Jewish pawns being cynically manipulated by ruthless and amoral opportunists in power. That many pawns are willing is irrelevant. A pawn is a pawn is a pawn. How many pawns must die before this madness ends? Don’t blame “the” Jews if this drags on for years. Not all Jews support Israel’s policies. Not all Israelis support Israel’s policies. Not even all Zionists support Israel’s policies. The ENLIGHTENED Zionist realizes that for Jews to ever live in peace and safety in the land of Israel, they must be surrounded, not by enemies, but by friends, many layers deep. Even now, it’s not too late for that , but change must come from below, from the Israeli street. Any leader who seriously opposes the current policy faces an ignoble suppression of their political careers. And that’s if they’re lucky. If that doesn’t work, they’ll be assassinated. The Arab street has just a vital a role to play in the peace process. It’s harder for them because they are currently the ones doing the most suffering. But this was not always the fact, and it may not always be. But one fact remains. Either ordinary Israelis and Palestinians decide that enough is enough, reach out to each other, and force their leaders to settle this thing, or else this thing see-saws back and forth for ever, or until the unthinkable happens and a WMD settles the issue for both sides forever. And who wants that? ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> <FONT COLOR="#000099">See What You've Been Missing! Amazing Wireless Video Camera. Click here </FONT><A HREF="http://us.click.yahoo.com/75YKVC/7.PDAA/ySSFAA/xYTolB/TM";><B>Click Here!</B></A> ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Please let us stay on topic and be civil. To unsubscribe please go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cia-drugs -Home Page- www.cia-drugs.org OM Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/<<winmail.dat>>
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