The vision for peace between Israel and Palestine is fading and for a variety of reasons.  Most importantly, it's the lack of trust between the two countries. Israel and Palestine are past the point of no return. The conflict has been going on for more than 60 years, and there's no end in sight. The Israelis are using the time to their advantage to build more settlements.  The Palestinians are reacting to the ongoing settlements as a reason not to continue with negotiations. On Saturday, the Palestinian National Council will decide whether or not they'll continue with Israeli peace negotiations. They've been fighting for so long; I don't think there's going to be peace. They kill each other, destroy homes, and don’t listen to anyone. I think that this story was fairly neutral but I also do not think that it was the whole story. I did not learn too much from this article. I read another article that did “choose a side”. It said that “the conflict was one-sided, with Palestinians attacking Israel, and the Israeli army merely responding to this aggression. Our findings suggest that the situation is more balanced than that.” These people obviously were on the Israeli side.    

Works Cited:

India News | Indian Business, Finance News | Sports: Cricket India | Bollywood, Tamil, Telugu Movies | Astrology, Indian Recipes. Web. 11 Oct. 2010. <http://sify.com/>. 

Sunni or Shiite

Islam is considered to be one of the largest religions practiced in the world. The schism developed after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Iraq and Iran are majority Shiite nations while the rest of the Muslim world is mostly Sunni. It’s a difference in their fundamental religious beliefs. The Sunni are more radical than the Shia. Sunni and Shiite Muslims are sects of the Islam religion which was established by the Prophet Mohammad with the division between the two sects occurring right after the death of the prophet. Sunni Muslims believe that their leaders are those that are voted by the members of the Islam communities based on their capability to fulfill the required tasks. Shiite Muslims believe that their leaders must be those who are direct descendants of the Prophet Mohammad who had been elected by Allah to serve as the first leader of the Islam faith. Sunni Muslims believe that the Mahdi or the “Rightfully Guided One” is yet to come to Earth and make his presence felt. Shiite Muslims believe that the Mahdi is already here and is just waiting for the right time for him to make his reappearance. The Shi’ites accept laws only from Mohammed and the Koran. There are essentially no differences in ritual between Shi’ite and Sunni. Many Sunni believe Shi’ites are not real Muslims. The Sunnis didn’t look for saintliness in their leaders, but strong political abilities. They shaped laws based on the words of Mohammed and the three “righteous caliphs”. I don't think that I, as a student, need to know the difference between them. If you work with them or are studying them then I think it is.