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Israel’s Response to the United Nation's Resolution on Palestine Is Hysterical: Noam Chomsky


The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed a resolution 14-0 condemning all Israeli settlements on Palestinian land as having “no legal validity” and amounting to “a flagrant violation under international law.” The resolution goes on to note that Israeli settlements pose “a major obstacle to the vision of two States living side-by-side in peace and security.”


Trump calls UN 'sad' club after vote on Israeli settlements - Raw Story

Trump calls UN 'sad' club after vote on Israeli settlements ... resolution 2334,
 which describes Israel's ..




This represents the first UNSC resolution in almost eight years concerning Israel and Palestine, and the first in over 35 years regarding the issue of Israeli settlements. Typically the U.S. would veto resolutions critical of Israel, but in this case, the Obama administration opted to abstain, in effect allowing the resolution to pass.
For comment, AlterNet contacted Noam Chomsky, famed linguist, dissident and professor emeritus of MIT. Chomsky said of the resolution, “The UNSC resolution is essentially the same as UNSC 446, March 1979, passed 12-0-3. The main difference is that then two countries joined the U.S. in abstaining. Now the U.S. stands against the world; and under Trump, in even more splendid isolation, on much more crucial matters as well.”
Following the UNSC resolution, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly responded by announcing a halt to his government’s funding contributions to numerous U.N. institutions. Netanyahu called the resolution “a disgraceful anti-Israel maneuver” and blamed it on an “old-world bias against Israel.” Furthermore, he vowed to exact a “diplomatic and economic price” from the countries that supported it.

Shortly thereafter, Netanyahu made good on his threats by personally refusing to meet with the foreign ministers of the 12 UNSC members that voted for the resolution and ordering his Foreign Ministry to limit all working ties with the embassies of those 12 nations. He also summoned the ambassadors to the Foreign Ministry for a personal reprimand over the vote—including, in a highly unusual move, the U.S. ambassador.
Asked about Netanyahu’s response, Chomsky told AlterNet, “The hysterical reaction in Israel and in Congress (bipartisan) reflects their sharp shift to the right in the years since, and the whole incident illustrates quite interesting shifts in world order.”
Palestinian rights advocates have quipped that Israel’s suspension of relations with the UNSC member nations that voted for the resolution—powerful countries including the U.K. and France—has effectively realized a goal of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. AlterNet contacted Omar Barghouti, one of the founders of the BDS movement, to see what he thought of this assessment. Barghouti replied, "This unanimous resolution, despite its many flaws in addressing basic Palestinian rights, has dealt Israel's colonial designs a serious blow that will inadvertently, yet significantly, enhance the impact of the BDS movement in isolating Israel academically, culturally, economically and otherwise."
"Israel's delusional hubris and surreal threats to punish the U.N. and the world indicate above everything else how deeply alarmed it is at fast becoming an international pariah, as apartheid South Africa once was."
Ali Abunimah, the Palestinian-American founder of the Electronic Intifada, told AlterNet that Israel’s use of diplomatic sanctions against the UNSC member states contradicted its vocal opposition to sanctions advocated by the BDS movement. Abunimah said, “It’s sort of amusing to Israel try to impose sanctions and punish the whole world for this decision…Israel claims that sanctions are illegitimate as a tool except of course when Israel is the one wielding them, whether it’s against Iran or whether against the countries that displeased it.”
Though Israel’s heavy-handed response may concretely impact its diplomatic standing internationally, the resolution itself is largely symbolic and, as professor Chomsky pointed out, a reiteration of an earlier UNSC resolution. However, experts like Richard Falk, professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University and former U.N. Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights from 2008-2014, don’t think the resolution’s symbolic nature means it isn’t important.
As Falk told AlterNet, “The SC resolution at this stage is symbolic. Israel has already announced plans for thousand additional units, and the government has indicated its refusal to comply with the resolution. Nevertheless, it is of great psychological and potentially political support for the Palestinian struggle to end the occupation and achieve a sustainable and just peace. The fact that aside from the United States' notable abstention, all 14 other members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution, is indicative of the encouraging reality that the world is not ready to forget the Palestinians, that Israel faces a renewed experience of diplomatic isolation, and that the growing international solidarity movement, including the BDS campaign, will be strengthened and encouraged.”
Asked how the resolution could move from symbolic to something with more concrete effects, Falk responded, “much depends on the future, and whether the commitment in the resolution to have reports from the U.N. Secretary General every three months on implementation will lead to any tangible results beyond a reiteration of censure remains to be seen.”
Though the Obama administration’s unusual decision not to veto a U.N. resolution critical of Israel might be start toward accountability, many Palestinian rights advocates remain cynical about Obama. Abunimah told AlterNet, “Obama has done more than any other president in history to assure Israel’s impunity.”
“When Obama was president-elect, Israel was engaged in this massacre in Gaza in 2008, 2009. When Obama came in he blocked any form of international accountability, trashed the Goldstone report which was the independent U.N. inquiry. The same in 2014 when Israel attacked Gaza, Obama actually rearmed Israel while the bombs were falling on Gaza and then of course the same story of blocking any form of international accountability. And …giving Israel this unconditional boost in military aid—a minimum of $3.8 billion [per year] over the next 10 years, up from $3.1 billion [per year] currently.”
Noam Chomsky: Israel’s Response to the United Nation's Resolution on Palestine Is 'Hysterical'
by Ken Klippenstein, alternet.org
Ken Klippenstein is an American journalist who can be reached on Twitter @kenklippenstein or via email: [email protected]

http://www.alternet.org/world/chomsky-israels-response-unsc-hysterical
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writing efficient emails, like the US military email system


With so much at stake and so much else to accomplish, how does the U.S. military teach soldiers to manage email? 
In the military, we all know, you learn how to fight, how to push past your perceived limits, even how to make your bed.

But there's at least one thing most of us rarely imagine soldiers and sailors learning to do: wading through their inboxes.

But, of course, just like the rest of us, folks in the military face the daunting task of keeping on top of an endless stream of messages.

And, adding to their burden, in their job, processing email in a timely and effective manner could mean the difference between life and death.

With so much at stake and so much else to accomplish (like, you know, winning wars and battling terrorists), how does the U.S. military teach soldiers to manage email? A recent HBR blogs post by Kabir Sehgal, a navy veteran and the author of "Coined: The Rich Life of Money and How Its History Has Shaped Us," offers a glimpse into military email protocol that anyone can use to write more efficient emails. (Hat tip to Lifehacker for the pointer).

Make the most of your subject line

Part of the dread of a full inbox (and part of the reason many of us procrastinate when faced with one) is wondering what sort of long-winded updates and unpleasant requests might lurk within. Those following military email protocol face no such issue. The basic content of each email is crystal clear just from the subject line.

"Military personnel use keywords that characterize the nature of the email in the subject," explains Sehgal, offering this list of examples:

ACTION - Compulsory for the recipient to take some action
SIGN - Requires the signature of the recipient
INFO - For informational purposes only, and there is no response or action required
DECISION - Requires a decision by the recipient
REQUEST - Seeks permission or approval by the recipient
COORD - Coordination by or with the recipient is needed
This system isn't military-specific. Anyone can use it to make processing their missives less time-consuming and stressful. "The next time you email your direct reports a status update, try using the subject line: INFO - Status Update. And if you need your manager to approve your vacation request, you could write REQUEST - Vacation," suggests Sehgal.

BLUF your emails

Out here in the civilian world we sometimes use the acronym TL;DR (that's "too long; didn't read" for the uninitiated) to mark a summary that boils down a lengthy message to its essence. In the military they've codified and improved the idea, insisting every email start with "the BLUF" (or "Bottom Line Up Front").

The BLUF "declares the purpose of the email and action required. The BLUF should quickly answer the five W's: who, what, where, when, and why. An effective BLUF distills the most important information for the reader," explains Sehgal, who gives this example from the Air Force Handbook: "BLUF: Effective 29 Oct 13, all Air Force Doctrine Documents (AFDDs) have been rescinded and replaced by core doctrine volumes and doctrine annexes."

Of course, the actual acronym BLUF would probably just confuse most of the people you email, but the principle can be applied without the military terminology. Just start your emails with Bottom Line in bold followed by a business-version of the BLUF, recommends Sehgal.

Check out the rest of Sehgal's post for a few more tips. Or, if you're looking for more ideas on how to get out of your inbox quicker, check out Zappos boss Tony Hsieh's email management approach, or read up on one author's investigation into the email habits of some of the world's most successful business people.

Read the original article on Inc.. Copyright 2016. Follow Inc. on Twitter.

More: Inc. Military Email Productivity
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-military-has-a-system-for-writing-efficient-emails-that-anyone-can-use-2016-12

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