On May 9, 2006, at 6:24 PM, Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
> On 5/9/06, Marvin Gandall <marvgandall at videotron.ca> wrote:
>>
>> Joel Schalit wrote:
>>
>> > Hey Marvin,
>>
>> > I agree with you completely. Barghouti will eventually be
>> released, from
>> > what I hear. He's considered a "bargaining chip", and will be
>> let loose
>> > when the Israelis believe its time for a leadership change, so
>> to speak.
>> >
>> > Just to clarify vis Abunimah, he's not a two state guy. His
>> argument is
>> > that a one state solution is the only realistic one, and is,
>> for all
>> > intents and purposes, already in effect through the Occupation.
>> ==========================================
>> Right you are, Joel. I understood that, and was agreeing with
>> Yoshie's point
>> about him being unrepresentative on that account.
>
> In case there is any misunderstanding here, my personal opinion is
> that one state in which Jews and Palestinians (as well as others) have
> equal rights and freedoms is the only lasting solution and that a
> two-state solution is at this point a non-starter. In this sense,
> Palestinians like Ali Abunimah and Israelis like Bryan Atinsky get my
> vote. The thing is that I don't really have a vote in this situation
> (I can only have an opinion) -- it's up to Palestinians and Israelis
> to work it out.
>
> A more pressing concern now is a possibility of a civil war among
> Palestinians, what Washington and Tel Aviv wanted Palestinians to have
> all along. Just today, I read of a shootout between Hamas and Fatah
> militants. You see, the Palestinian Authority is completely dependent
> on foreign aid . . . just as Aristide's government was before the US
> cut it off, aided the opposition, and ousted Aristide in a coup (cf.
> Paul Farmer, "Who Removed Aristide?" 15 April 2004,
> <http://www.lrb.co.uk/v26/n08/farm01_.html>). Washington is squeezing
> Hamas in the same way: see Joel's "Vote No on House Bill 4681" (at
> <http://www.alternet.org/blogs/themix/36024/> -- see also the text of
> the bill <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.4681:>). It
> should be noted that on this issue Congress is to the right of the
> White House: <http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?
> cid=1145961313237&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull>.
> (BTW, Tom Lantos, who was one of the speakers at the "Save Darfur"
> rally, is one of the sponsors of the bill.)
>
> Someone (hopefully not the Gulf States) needs to pay Hamas. Tehran
> pledged $50 million, but it is said that the PA needs "a further $170m
> a month . . . to run the administration, out of which $115m" goes "to
> paying salaries" (at
> <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4914334.stm>). Can Tehran do
> more?
>
> --
> Yoshie
> <http://montages.blogspot.com/>
> <http://mrzine.org>
> <http://monthlyreview.org/>
>
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