Obama: Israel is a 'constant sore'

Some times you just have to bow to better thinkers and so here is a comment by my nephew, MR.

The title of that article is unequivocally misleading! Obama is clearly referring to the constant fighting as the "constant sore" that won't go away, not the nation of Israel. I think that he is correct with regard to the settlement issue as well. Israel has repeatedly stood in defiance of U.N. Resolutions as they continue to expandupon their existing settlements. Ma'ale Adumin, for instance, is a settlement that has been continuously expanded upon for years, now housing hundreds of thousands of Jews in what should be the heart of the Palestinian state in the West Bank.

When you look at the three biggest impediments to peace: the right of return for the refugees of 1948, a return to the pre-1967 borders, and the issue of Jerusalem, the settlement dilemma interferes with the latter two of those issues. The right of return for refugees will obviously never happen, nor will there be a return to pre-1967 borders; however, the expansion which is taking place in the West Bank speaks much less to being a security structure than being a tool for other political gains.

Settlements like Ma'ale Adumin jut out into West Bank, creating a quasi divide between the north and south of the land, forming somewhat of an hour glass shape. This hinders the flow of people and commerce within the state. More importantly, however, is the position and formation of these settlements. If you look at where many of them are positioned, they encircle Jerusalem from the east. This serves to block access for Arabs to the city from the east; it is reasonable to think that Jerusalem could someday become subsumed into Israel proper.

Israel's military, political, and economic superiority over the Palestinians is plainly evident and so wholly overwhelming that it is unlikely to believe that there will be a sustainable peace created within the foreseeable future; unless you have bargaining chips, you cannot negotiate. However, the expansion of settlements only shows a tendency of Israel to want to dominate their poor neighbors - it is unnecessary on every practical front. The buffer that these settlements were supposed to provide for the nation can easily be created in other ways: the erection of the massive peace walls, UAVs (Israel's are the most advanced in the world), guard towers, etc.

The settlement issue is very complex, with many actors fighting for and against their existence and expansion. I don't think they serve a useful purpose anymore; I do think they impinge upon even having a faint hope that a peace settlement is possible. They continue to push Israel's borders further away from their pre-1967 positions, and they are choking off the very city that the Palestinians wish to call their capital. I'm not about to pass judgement on whether this is right or wrong, but from a pragmatic perspective, all they do is exacerbate what are already seemingly insurmountable points of conflict.

Your most import resource

Your most important resource is not your bank account or your house, but your knowledge. What you know and how you use your knowledge, is what sets you apart at work and in your community. If you are looking for a new job or a promotion or sometimes, especially in a down economy, you need to know more and be able to apply that information to your position.

If you want to progress in your field you will never stop learning. That means that you need to put effort into learning, the more progress you want the more effort you will want to put into learning. But is that really that hard to do? How many hours do you spend watching television in one day? What if you took fifteen to thirty minutes every day into reading a book in your field, or a biography of someone who excels in your profession?

There is a reason that top companies spend millions every year in training of their employees and that reason is that they get a greater return from that investment. If the company is willing to invest in you don’t you think that you should do the same? We have an ability to learn vast amounts and we are, for the most part, not doing it.

When you are in the car, instead of listening to the radio or that CD, why not listen to something that will improve your life. Discover things that you never knew before and I am not saying that you should focus only on knowledge that impacts your job. Learn about things that you enjoy and that can be what ever you enjoy. Who knows, you may find that you will be changing jobs for something that makes you happy. Read what ever you can about your field and what you enjoy and you could be an expert in your field in a few years.