Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Twittering

Spring in Palestine

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Every minute new technologies emerge that help give voice to Palestine. And all over the world people are saving tidbits for and about Palestine.

IMEU Home > Palestine in Photos Palestinians in the West Bank city of Qalqilia celebrate Jerusalem as the capital of Arab Culture 2009. (Maan Images)


Ever watch how a bird makes a nest. It is much the same way one weaves cloth- one strand at a time. Each strand counts. Every heartbeat is part of humanity- every life worth something to someone.

In trying to sort through the veritable avalanche of news and opinion on Palestine it is easy to get distracted and/or overwhelmed- easy to loose sight of the big picture.


PALESTINE MAPS The Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA)

Home > Palestine Facts > Maps > Palestine

Maps are a useful tool. Maps can help us understand the lay of the land, and they can help prove trends, and as such they are a valuable resource for anyone interested in simply exploring the facts.

Maps can also help us learn where people come from, what wild flowers bloom there, as well as the best time to plant things wherever we might live now.

Another spring is here- and another year for growing Gardens for Palestine... each in our own way:
Earlier this month my clever husband fixed our back yard fence over by the driveway, putting up lattice, making it look so much more gardeny. I am utterly delighted with it. This past weekend we planted bulbs and seeds in front of it.

We also worked on the front garden

and our Fairy Garden

and our hillside garden.

Our gardens are frequented by many different birds. Their songs are heavenly... I am very grateful for my husband's hard work in making our home such a welcoming place.

In watching our seedlings grow and our flowers bloom, year after year, I am always enchanted by the way they reach for the light.

Last week I had Jury Duty:

"Citizens of the United States have enjoyed for over 200 years the right to have their cases decided by a jury of their peers. Jury service is not merely your responsibility - it is also a cherished right." http://www.ccpa.net/index.asp?NID=1964


The rule of fair and just laws is a constant process here in America, and we are all part of that process in one way or another. Our justice system asks a randomly selected jury to bring who they are and what they know to the table to deliberate the case.

"Jury service is one of the most important civic duties. You do not need any knowledge of the legal system to be a juror. The protection of rights and liberties of litigants in federal courts is largely achieved through the teamwork of judge and jury." http://www.uscourts.gov/jury/welcomejuror.html

Headlines tend to focus on the negative and the nasty and the outrageous, and TV sitcoms tend to celebrate the rude and highly dysfunctional but reality is there are many admirable and decent people in this world of ours- quiet heroes that go about their business every day with compassion and good humor- and good manners.

The Golden Rule is a universal idea- shared by all of humanity.

Last year NOVA did a fascinating program on the Wisdom of the Crowds: Ask enough people to estimate something, and the average of their guesses will get you surprisingly close to the right answer. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/0301/04.html

As time goes by we really do become enlightened by civilization itself. Some of us are inspired by the arts- some by science- some by all the other many options out there- the many ways to approach life itself.

As time goes by more and more people who know and love Palestine will find ways to help free Palestine.

A little twitter here, a tweet there, it adds up. Word spreads. More and more people are more and more likely to notice and remember and treasure Palestine in positive ways. To honor Palestine with dignity and grace.... to help fulfil the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights- including but not limited to FULLY respecting the Palestinian refugees inalienable legal, moral and natural right to return to original homes and lands...



"International law protects weak and strong alike, and we ignore its continuing abuse at our peril." George Bisharat

"WHEREAS recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..." Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

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