Commentary: Foreign Affairs: Jonathan S. Tobin: "Money Alone Won’t Bail Out The West Bank": The Future of Palestine

Money Alone Won’t Bail Out the West Bank: pAs I noted yesterday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is on the road this week attempting to persuade Arab countries to give him money. Unfortunately for Abbas, his upgrade at the United Nations last month hasn’t made his panhandling act any more popular with those who voted to upgrade his status at the world body. [...]/p

FRSFreeStatePlus:
Palestine or the Palestinian Authority as its officially called is basically and independent state, province or republic. Of the State of Israel, its not like a state in America like California or even a American commonwealth. Like Puerto Rico that basically governs its owns affairs except as it relates to national security, foreign policy and the currency. Palestine right now is basically a country inside of another country without the full authority to govern its own affairs. Israel or Palestine are essentially made up of two countries, the Jewish State of Israel in the East and the Palestinian State of Palestine. In the West and South with most of the authority and power going to Israel and the Israeli's. With Palestine having the ability to govern its own domestic affairs and to a certain extent their foreign affairs. The ability to talk and communicate with foreign leaders but in a lot of cases without the resources to govern their own. Affairs so on a lot of ways the Palestinian Authority has been set up to fail without the ability to draw the resources to govern themselves.

Even if Israel and Palestine were to somehow reach a final two state solution with Israel and an independent Palestinian state. That might not be the right future of Palestine, because Israel would still run through  two of the states in Palestine. Gaza and West Bank so and unless Palestine has the ability and resources to govern themselves, with their own currency. And the ability to tax and develop their own economy to meet the needs of their people and the ability to defend themselves. With a solid law enforcement and military, Palestine might not be worth governing or having. So going forward for any Palestinian state thats not part of Israel where Israel no longer has the authority over. Palestinian affairs, Palestine has to have a credible and solid government that can govern and defend the country. This is an area thats in need of serious nation building for Palestine to succeed in the future.

For Palestine to succeed it has to be governable which is not the current situation with the ability to take on. Terrorists so they can't attack Palestine or Israel so the Palestinian economy can be developed, boys and girls. Going to school and getting a good education, job and companies being created in Palestine and so fourth. And an independent State of Palestine might not be the way forward but they need to break away from Israel. For Palestine to be secure in the future and perhaps the future of Palestine is a greater Palestine that would. Include Gaza, West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon and maybe down the road Syria but for any of these things to happen in the future. Palestine has to be able to govern and defend themselves with the resources to do so.

National Review: War on Drugs: Antoni Gollan: The History of Marijuana Prohibition

Antoni Gollan - National Review Online

When you look at the purpose of laws you should also have an idea of the purpose of freedom should be as well. How free should individuals be to live their own lives if have any freedom at all, if you believe freedom should be limited. To protect innocent people from the harm of others, then you are in the mainstream of American thought. If you believe that freedom should be limited to not only protect innocent people from the harm of others but to protect people even from themselves. Then you believe in the notion of a strong government, big government even thats designed to have a secure country. Even if that means limiting peoples ability to live their own lives even if they aren't hurting anyone with what. They are doing which would make you more of a Statist not to sound insulting but descriptive which is common in Neoconservative and. Progressive thought in America, rather then you being a Liberal or Conservative and just because you are a Statist. Doesn't mean you are a Communist exactly or another type of Authoritarian, you can be a Statist and still be a Democrat. But you are someone who values security over freedom.

As a Liberal I believe that we can't have freedom without security and vice versa. Freedom is great as long as we aren't free to hurt innocent people, just free to live our own lives as we see fit. But security isn't worth much without freedom because the longer you try to hold people down the more angry they get. And will want to take that anger out on the state thats holding them down as Egypt and Libya found out in 2011. As Syria is finding out now and as Eastern Europe found out over twenty years ago, so thats my biggest problem. With the War on Drugs is that it puts security over freedom for how people live their own lives and tries to protect. People from themselves even if that means locking them up in places that aren't very good for them and doesn't. Do a thing for them so they can get help with whatever addiction they may have and the idea isn't very intelligent either. Lets send pot smokers and drug users to a place where they won't want to be and by doing that they won't want to come back.

We have over eighty years of evidence to know that if people want to do something bad enough they'll find. A way to do that and damn the consequences which is why the War on Drugs doesn't work and especially with marijuana. Where a lot of pot smokers aren't addicted to pot and are clever enough not to get caught smoking pot or being high. In front of law enforcement and all these marijuana raids are design to protect people from themselves. Instead of using those resources to put away actual dangerous criminals, which makes the War on Drugs a waste of tax payer dollars.