Hamas won't recognize Israel, but will accept its right to exist?

So Jimmy Carter was in Damascus this weekend on a self-proclaimed 'personal peace mission'. Defying US and Israeli warnings, he met with Khaled Mashaal, the exiled leader of Hamas. One of the things Carter and Mashaal discussed was a possible prisoner exchange with Israel, as well as how to lift a siege imposed by the Jewish state in the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip. Carter, who brokered the 1978 Israeli-Egyptian peace, is trying to secure the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit (who is apparently alive?)

Perhaps more importantly, "Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal says his militant Islamic group will not recognize Israel. But he will accept a Palestinian state on Palestinian territories occupied by Israel." -The Associated Press

The statement basically amounts to a tacit acceptance of Israel's right to exist alongside a Palestinian state, but without explicit recognition of the Jewish state.

I suppose that's progress. in a really ironic weird way.

Lights Out!

Last year Sydney, Australia tried to think of a way to get the entire city to do something about climate change problems. Their idea was to shut all the lights off in the city for 1 hour - Earth Hour.

EnergyAustralia attributed a 10.2% decrease in electricity consumption during that hour, with some 2 million people taking part.

Earth Hour: March 29, 8 - 9 PM

As an initiative of the WWF, Earth Hour has grown from a single event into a global movement. 26 major cities and hundreds of councils and towns from more than 35 countries are on the final list of participants. Many iconic buildings and landmarks around the world will be turning out their lights for Earth Hour including the CN Tower, Toronto; Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco; Sydney Opera House, Sydney; Brighton Pier, UK and the Sears Tower, Chicago.

Candlelight dinners, unplugged concerts, glow-in-the-dark sports, community star watching.. those are just some of the ways people are marking the hour. You can participate even if your local government is not on board. Simply shut all of your lights off between 8 and 9 pm local time.

Each one of us, working together, can make a positive impact on climate change - no matter who we are or where we live.

More information can be found at http://www.earthhour.org/.

sad

On monday I found out that my family veterinarian died. My mom had cut out the obit from the paper and it was sitting on the counter. I saw his smiling face and it read: died tragically while at work. I figured it was a massive heart attack or something. I asked my mom, since my aunt and uncle were friends of his. She said, no it wasn't a heart attack. and then -I'm not sure why- I realized that he had committed suicide. Euthanized himself, of all things. The clinic staff found him the next morning.

His name was dr. terry. he was a nice man. I can only imagine how alone he must have felt for so long.